Andrew Selepak Comments on Online Age Verification for Children

Andrew Selepak, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Media Production, Management, and Technology associate instructional professor, was quoted in “States Seek Age Verification to Protect Kids Online, but Face Legal and Practical Hurdles” posted on thenationaldesk.com on Aug. 15.

The story focuses on the Supreme Court’s current enforcement of a law forcing social media companies to verify the ages of their users and require parental consent. Big Tech will now face a state-by-state push to regulate protections for children online amid inaction by Congress to deal with the issue.

“The big thing is how you accomplish this from practical terms,” said Selepak. “To the extent that now you have identifying information about a minor, how does the social media platform store that information, save that information or not be able to store that information and save it? Do we trust that they will delete said information if it’s collected?”

He adds, “We keep chasing our tail on the same conversations again and again, because maybe the states are trying to do something, but Congress is not. So long as Congress stays out of it, other than to have hearings, this patchwork and this debate and this conversation is just going to continue to move forward.”

Category: College News
Tagged: Andrew Selepak MPMT Online Viewing
Subscribe to our News Digest