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Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] Utah governor unveils education campaign warning of social media
dangers, promises litigation
Warning: This email originated from outside the City of Anaheim. Do not click links or open
attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the message.
04-19-2024
(P.R.D.D.C.)
PARENTS FOR THE RIGHTS OF DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED CHILDREN
CRAIG A. DURFEY FOUNDER OF P.R.D.D.C.
U.S. HOUSE OF CONGRESS H2404 - HONORING CRAIG DURFEY FOR HIS FIGHT AGAINST AUTISM
... Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2003-03-27/pdf/CREC-2003-03-27.pdf
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To Whom it may concern.
Utah governor unveils education campaign
warning of social media dangers, promises
litigation
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is launching a public information campaign "unmasking" the
threat social media use may pose to teenagers, and Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday
promised more litigation against social media platforms in the future.
Recent academic research and a report from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy have tied
social media use to declines in mental health for teens, and Cox said there is a "causal
link" between the two.
"We care about our kids in Utah, and I know that's true across the nation. This is a huge
issue that continues to grow," the governor said while unveiling the campaign at the state
Capitol on Thursday. "This is not a conservative issue, it's not a liberal issue. It's an
American issue. It's a parent issue."
Using $500,000 allocated by the Utah Legislature earlier this year and $750,000 from the
Department of Commerce's fund for education campaigns, the state will air a pair of 30-
second television spots now through next spring. The ads feature teens wearing rubber
masks to show the "brave faces" many put on to hide the adverse impacts of social media
use.
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A government website provides research on social media and advice for parents who are
navigating social media use with their children.
"This campaign is going to help our parents understand what's behind these masks that
these kids are wearing," said Aimee Winder Newton, senior adviser to the governor and
director of the Office of Families.
"We need parents to understand that this is something that their kids are struggling with,"
she continued. "But the biggest thing that we want, too, is to emphasize human
connection. You see, at the end of the video, the parent taking the phone (and) putting
their arm around the child. We want to emphasize human connection as a piece of that,
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that we all should do a better job putting our phones down and connecting with each
other."
Cox stressed that social media has noted benefits and the goal of the campaign is to
educate and assist parents, not prevent social media use entirely. That's the expressed
purpose of a pair of first-in-the-nation social media regulations the governor signed into
law this spring.
One law requires social media companies to get parental consent before allowing minors
on their platforms, verify the ages of all users in the state and treat minor accounts
differently from adult accounts by limiting their appearance in search results, enabling
parental controls for their children's accounts and preventing the collection of minors'
data or targeting advertising toward them.
Another law makes it easier for parents to sue companies over alleged harms their
children suffer as a result of using social media, and prohibits algorithms or other features
that a company knows to cause a minor to become addicted to social media.
Gov. Spencer Cox announces the launch of a new public awareness campaign urging
parents to learn about the harms social media has on youth at the state Capitol in Salt
Lake City on Thursday. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
"We're not trying to completely remove social media from our kids' lives. We're trying to
teach them healthy habits," Cox said.
Lawmakers could have prevented youth from using social media entirely — and considered
banning kids under the age of 16 from signing up — but instead opted for regulations that
make it easier for parents without eliminating the benefits for some kids, the governor
added.
A vast majority of youth aged 13-17 use at least one social media platform, and a survey of
eighth and 10th graders found that the average time spent on social media is 3.5 hours a
day. Teens are regularly exposed to hateful content on social media, and social media is
also linked to problems with sleep and attention.
We want to emphasize human connection as a piece of that, that we all should do a better job putting our phones down
and connecting with each other.
–Aimee Winder Newton
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Cox said he often hears criticism that social media wouldn't be as big of a problem if
parents "just did a better job," but said, "This is incredibly difficult, as a parent of a 16-
year-old."
"This is the challenge of our time," he said. "Even parents who are doing everything right
are seeing incredible damage."
But regulations and information campaigns aren't the only strategies the governor has to
help kids. Cox has repeatedly promised to sue social media companies over the alleged
harm their platforms have done to kids, likening them to the tobacco companies that
misled consumers about lung cancer and other risks of smoking.
He said to expect more lawsuits against companies, after the state filed a motion last
week to compel TikTok to comply with subpoenas issued earlier this year, but hasn't said
which platforms the state plans to target or when those suits will be ready.
"Yes, there will be," he said, when asked about additional lawsuits. "Now, obviously, we're
in the early processes of information gathering, but I feel very confident and I can't say
more than that."
Photos
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https://www.ksl.com/article/50701650/utah-governor-unveils-education-campaign-
warning-of-social-media-dangers-promises-litigation-
?utm_source=email_share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news&utm_content=polit
ics
AB-638 Mental Health Services Act: early intervention and prevention programs.(2021-
2022)
This bill would amend the MHSA by including in the prevention and early intervention
services authorized to be provided, prevention and early intervention strategies that
address mental health needs, substance misuse or substance use disorders, or needs
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relating to cooccurring mental health and substance use services. By authorizing a new
use for continuously appropriated funds, this bill would make an appropriation. The bill
would state the finding and declaration of the Legislature that this change is consistent
with, and furthers the intent of, the MHSA.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB638
Funding can apply to awareness from Prop 63 funds as grant
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