Brad Paquetteб Michigan House of Representatives 37th district | Facebook
Brad Paquetteб Michigan House of Representatives 37th district | Facebook
State Representative Brad Paquette and State Senator John Cherry have introduced a bipartisan bill package aimed at protecting children from mature content online. The proposed legislation, presented through House Bill 4429 and Senate Bill 284, seeks to implement a decision-based age verification mechanism.
The proposed system would verify age via device operating systems, share age ranges with sites and apps requiring verification, and allow parents to implement parental controls. It also requires guardian consent for minors' downloads.
“This legislation will make significant strides to protect children online as both sides of the aisle recognize the urgent priority,” said Paquette. “We are drawing from successful approaches used across the country. Our hope is that our colleagues see this proposal for what it is – model legislation on how to navigate this problem.”
Device-based verification aims to address legal and fragmentation issues by working with per-platform methods while enhancing privacy by reducing repeated data sharing across services. Senator Cherry's introduction of identical bills in the Senate indicates a concerted effort within both legislative chambers to pass the proposal into law.
House Bill 4429 has been referred to the House Committee on Communications and Technology.
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