What are the laws and school policies in the state of Wisconsin regarding children’s phone use?
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Last month, the U.S. Senate passed the first comprehensive online protection bill for children and teens in nearly three decades — and experts say the law is long overdue.
Children’s increased screen time during the pandemic and growing questions about social media privacy have underscored the need for federal legislation, said Dr. Megan Moreno, a pediatrician at UW-Madison and co-director of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Center on Social Media and Adolescent Mental Health.
Although most social media platforms have a minimum age of 13 for use, a 2023 Ministry of Health study found that 40% of children between the ages of 8 and 12 are on social media.
“For a long time, we’ve really been asking parents to do everything related to setting rules, educating their kids, setting boundaries for them,” Moreno said. “But I think in the last five years in particular, we’ve learned so much about how these platforms are designed to make it really difficult for kids and parents to set their own boundaries.”
In the meantime, it remains the responsibility of parents to regulate their children’s social media use. Moreno said the period after school starts is an ideal time to revisit family media rules. Most households are more relaxed about their screen time limits during the summer, she said, so late summer and early fall are a good time to reset those boundaries.
As the new school year begins, here’s what federal and state laws and school policies say about teens’ social media use in Wisconsin and what kind of house rules experts recommend.
What would the new social media bills passed by the Senate do?
Last month, with overwhelming bipartisan support, the Senate passed two bills to regulate teens’ social media use: the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act.
The Kids Online Safety Act would create a “duty of care” for social media platforms to “prevent and mitigate” harm to children. This includes protecting minors from content that promotes suicide, violence, bullying, eating disorders, sexual abuse and drug use.
The bill would also give minors the ability to turn off features that use user-specific algorithms to encourage “addictive” use of the platform. Many popular social media platforms are programmed to give users more of what they interact with, not just all the content shared on a site or app.
The Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act is called “COPPA 2.0” because it is an update of the original COPPA law protecting minors online, which Congress passed in 1998.
The original law applies to children under 13. Among other things, it requires platforms to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children online and to take “reasonable steps” to protect the confidentiality of children’s personal information, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
COPPA 2.0 includes some important innovations. The law extends protections to users between the ages of 13 and 16 and gives parents the ability to delete their children’s personal data from platforms.
Both bills are currently being considered by the House of Representatives, which must still vote on them. If the bills pass, President Joe Biden has signaled he will sign them before the end of his term in January.
More: How parents in Wisconsin are protecting their children’s mental health from social media – without banning them from using their phones
What are Wisconsin’s laws regarding teen social media use?
Wisconsin has no state-specific laws regulating teens’ use of social media, so the primary law protecting minors online in Wisconsin is the original COPPA law.
That’s not to say, however, state lawmakers haven’t tried to pass laws specifically targeted at Wisconsin children. Earlier this year, Republican Rep. David Steffen of Green Bay proposed a bill that would establish a “curfew” for minors on social media apps. Under the proposed law, Wisconsin residents under the age of 18 would be prohibited from using apps like Instagram and TikTok after 10 p.m., and they would need their parents’ permission to create those accounts.
The bill, which is modeled on a similar law from Utah, has made no progress so far.
What are the phone usage policies in Wisconsin schools?
Wisconsin school districts have a variety of policies regarding cell phone use, ranging from a complete ban on cell phones during the school day to allowing cell phone use outside of class time.
Additionally, some school districts have district-wide rules, while others let teachers set their own classroom rules. The best way to learn about the phone use policy at your child’s school may be to contact the teacher or school administration directly, but you can also check out this guide for an overview of phone use rules in Wisconsin school districts (as of January 2024).
Moreno said setting phone usage policies over the next few years will be a “million-dollar issue” for schools across the country, including in Wisconsin.
After the pandemic, many schools had to welcome back students who had become accustomed to much more screen time, she said. In addition, parents are increasingly nervous about not being able to reach their children immediately by phone or text message throughout the day.
“There is so much discussion about (phone policies in schools), but so little evidence and so little general knowledge to be able to control this,” Moreno said
Moreno added that she has seen policies in schools that are more consistent in their approach and enforcement. If students are prohibited from using cell phones for certain periods of time, ideally teachers would follow the same rule and work schoolwide to enforce the policy.
“The best measures are those that get buy-in,” she said. “They get buy-in from teachers, they get buy-in from parents, and the kids feel like, ‘Yes, that’s reasonable. I can do that.'”
How to set social media rules for the family
Here are some tips from Moreno for setting media rules in the home:
- Similar to school rules, you should make sure that family media rules are accepted by all household members. For example, if children are not allowed to use their phones during certain times, parents should make an effort to follow the same rules and set a good example.
- Create protected family time. In other words, use set phone-free times to spend time together. Moreno said a phone-free family dinner has been shown to be particularly beneficial for mental health.
- Remember that not all media is “bad.” Limiting phone use during a certain time doesn’t mean your family can’t use other media together. Choosing and watching a movie as a family can be one way to use media as a tool to facilitate family time together.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics offers additional resources, including a tool to help families create a personalized media plan. The AAP also has a question portal about teen social media use for parents, children, teachers, doctors, and anyone else looking for more information.
USA Today contributed to this report.
