Minnesota lawmakers are considering new social media restrictions, especially with how companies and strangers can interact with kids. Drugs are part of the reason this plan is now being considered. 

Three years ago, Bridgette Norring lost her 19-year-old son Devin. Norring said Devin had been experiencing blackout migraines. She said all his appointments were canceled due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Desperate for relief, Devin resorted to pills sold on Snapchat. 

“He believed he was getting a Percocet and what he got was 100% fentanyl,” Norring said.

Social media has been a gateway for drug traffickers, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Emily Murray with the DEA Ohama Division said six out of 10 pills are coming through with lethal doses of fentanyl. 

“We know that those pills that are online, there’s really no safe pill that you can buy online,” said Murray. “A potentially lethal dose of fentanyl is considered to be two milligrams of fentanyl and that is small enough that it can fit on the tip of a pencil top.”

Federal officials say they seized 2.3 million lethal doses of fentanyl last year. Nationally, the DEA seized almost 57 million pills and nearly 11,000 pounds of fentanyl. In the first four months of 2023, nationally, DEA seized almost 26 million pills and more than 4,000 pounds of fentanyl. 

Parents like Norring have been demanding that tech companies bear some responsibility. She has been an advocate of the Minnesota Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AADC). It’s a bill currently in both the MN House and Senate. The bill would, in part, place barriers on anyone under 18 from getting access to products, services or features that could harm children. 

The MN AADC would mandate safety standards across social media apps and websites frequented by youth to protect their data from being sold and exploited. Legislators say tech platforms have been profiting off of children’s internet usage, leaving them exposed to harmful practices like recommending their profiles to strangers and having school-based apps share their data with third parties. They say this legislation follows a framework that is already protecting kids in other nations and states.

“We did everything right that we could where social media was concerned. But it’s hard. They make it very hard,” Norring said. 

Opposition to MN AADC

However, the legislation is met with some resistance. Kouri Marshall with the Chamber of Progress partners with Minnesota tech businesses. He said in some cases, online activities should fall on the responsibility of the individuals, not big tech. 

“I do believe that this bill would infringe upon the child’s right to their freedom of speech,” said Marshall. “There is a digital divide in low-income communities and black and brown communities. Some children already don’t have access to technology. This bill would further harm those children’s ability to learn and to live and move about in a world where technology is the way is oftentimes the gateway of the future.” 

Supporters argue that the bill is a data protection bill, not a content moderation bill and does not violate the First Amendment. 

The MN AADC states it does not call for automatic age verification, instead it will require age estimation by using digital services of their users under 18 “with a reasonable level of certainty appropriate to the risks that arise from the data management practices of the business or apply the privacy and data protections afforded to children to all consumers.”

Marshall said this age estimation would be harmful and require even more information about users. 

“The platforms would have to find some kind of way to verify the age of the user, every user and this would particularly be harmful for journalists and whistleblowers, and anyone who’s looking to participate in online discussions, anonymously. This bill would, in fact, limit free expression for groups who need it the most,” Marshall said. 

According to the bill, it limits how companies may use any personal information collected to estimate age for any purposes other than fulfilling the age verification requirements. 

The bill is modeled after a California law that was enacted last year. 

Click here to view HF 2257 and here for the bill summary. 

Norring told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that one of the suspects that sold her son fentanyl is facing federal charges for drug trafficking.