Albany lawmakers are making another attempt to pass a package of bills aimed at regulating social media use by New York teens.

Critics argue the attempt could be a government overreach but supporters say now is the time to act.

Last fall, Gov. Kathy Hochul, the state attorney general and state lawmakers made a massive push to pass legislation geared toward curbing social media usage by minors.  

“We’ve heard from teachers and medical professionals that kids are really suffering, that kids are not alright,” Queens Democratic bill sponsor, state Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, said.

But come April, the topic dropped out-of-state budget talks.

Elected officials are making a second attempt before the clock runs out on June 6, the scheduled end of this year’s legislative session.

“We need to be doing something to alleviate the trauma and the compounding effects of social media on their mental health and wellbeing. In the assembly alone, we have over 90 co-sponsors,” Rozic said.

Social media companies would be forced to change the way information shows up for users when they scroll through feeds, according to one bill.

The sponsors claim that individuals stay on apps longer thanks to algorithms.

New York’s bill would instead require chronological information to cut down on addictive scrolling.

“What’s at risk is the current generation! I mean, we have an unprecedented youth mental health crisis,” Julie Scelfo, founder of Moms Against Media Addiction (MAMA), said. “Your child is exposed to an environment or content that is telling them, ‘Hey, you never have to be bored, you never have to tolerate frustration.’ There’s always something to swipe right, there’s always something more to see. Their brains are going to begin to never tolerate frustration to never want to look away.”

The U.S. Surgeon General released a 2023 advisory report citing research that a third of kids ages 13 to 17 admitted they use social media “almost constantly.” 

The analysis recommended parents, elected officials and technology companies all must be conscious of harmful effects.

Although the federal government has tried to reign in the apps, there’s disagreement over how to do it.

“The truth is that algorithmic feeds are actually making social media and online services better for teenagers,” Adam Kovacevich, an opponent of the legislation, said.

He is also CEO of Chamber of Progress, a group that advocates for technology policy.

“They’re ensuring that they’re seeing healthier feeds, better content and so if the bill bans algorithmic feeds by default for teenagers, teenagers are actually more likely to see spam, junk, hate, misinformation on their social media feeds,” Kovacevich said.

New York’s bills previously faced opposition from the nonprofit coalition, Tech NYC, which raised concerns about the bill’s requirement that users disclose, and prove, their age.

“The bill actually requires that online platforms treat all those teenagers the same way, and so it really denies platforms the opportunity to tailor their services in age-appropriate ways to a younger teen versus an older teen,” Kovacevich said.

Sources told NY1 that lawsuits are expected to follow, should the measures clear the legislature and be signed into law.

“We are very hopeful that both the safe act and the child data privacy act will be considered by the relevant committees in the next couple of weeks. We have a short time period to work with,” Rozic said.

If the bills are approved, New York would join a handful of states that have already passed similar legislation clamping down on technology companies.