PA lawmakers introducing social media bill, Sen. Haywood co-sponsors firearm ammunition bill

The Pennsylvania state Senate will soon introduce a bill mandating age verification on social media platforms and allowing parents/guardians to submit a request to delete a minor’s social media account.

“There are clear and demonstrated harms to children who utilize these platforms, a fact which has been known by social media companies for years,” State Rep. Robert W. Mercuri (R-Allegheny) said in a co-sponsorship memorandum. “Attempts by these companies to curtail such harms failed to alleviate the problem and actually made it worse.”

Mercuri has also taken a stand against the platform Tiktok, which is owned by a Chinese company.

In a memo to the PA House Mercuri said the bill would “protect the Commonwealth’s information technology assets from security risks associated with the social media network TikTok.”

“While TikTok has proven to be popular worldwide, the relationship between its parent company, ByteDance, and the authoritarian government of China has raised concerns about the wisdom of allowing the program to be installed on domestic governmental devices and networks,” Mercuri said.

For more on the PA bill on TikTok, you can read ABC27’s article here.

In unrelated matters, Pennsylvania lawmakers are also considering universal background checks and ID requirements for ammunition purchases.

“Unlike in the purchase of firearms, background checks are not required for people to buy ammunition, resulting in devastating consequences for our communities,” State Sen. Art Haywood (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia) and John I. Kane (D-Chester/Delaware) wrote in a co-sponsorship memorandum.

The bill comes in response to the spike in gun-related deaths and injuries in recent years.

For further coverage, you can read ABC27’s article here.