Senate Children and Families Committee, February 24, 2026

Transcript

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1. 0:07:27

   Hopefully nobody got here at 1:00. Sorry we're running a little late today. Long day on the floor. And, um, I'm going to ask Senator Mallow to open us up with a prayer.

2. 0:07:42

   Thank you, Madam Chair. Let us bow. Most gracious, eternal God, our Father, Father, we thank you for life, health, and strength, and we thank you for this opportunity to gather to discuss the business of children and families. Lord, we just ask that you continue to lead us and guide us. And Father, when we leave this place, let it never be from your presence. In the most holy and righteous name, we do pray, in the one who sustains, the one who provides, and the one who loves. In your name, we do pray. Amen.

3. 0:08:08

   Thank you. Okay, this is our last meeting before crossover because the bills have to be reported out before our next meeting date. And, uh, I wanted to just give a little plug to, uh, the committee members. We're having a very special dinner tomorrow evening, and it's at Cafe Momentum. And if you guys haven't heard about Cafe Momentum, they're across the street from the Chamber of Commerce on Peachtree.

4. 0:08:38

   And all of their staff, it's a non-profit, and all of their staff are justice-involved youth, the servers, the cooks, and all of that. And the food is delicious. They're open Wednesday through Friday fr- for lunch and dinner. So, uh, please take the opportunity. It's right downtown, and they need to be successful in order to do their mission. So please take advantage of them. Today, what we're gonna do is we're gonna start with, uh, Senate Bill 540. We have a substitute bill. And then we're gonna do a hearing on Senate Bill 495, and then we're gonna do Senate Resolution 771.

5. 0:09:17

   Senator Robertson had to present a bill in another committee first. So with that, Senator Anavitarte, I thought I saw you come in.

6. 0:09:31

   Okay, and if you can just tell us about Senate Bill 540, and the substitute that I have is, uh, 560634S.

7. 0:09:45

   I believe. Thank you. I don't have the copy in front of me, but I believe that's right. Um-

8. 0:09:54

   Yeah, let's give him a copy.

9. 0:09:56

   I'm at y'all's mercy right now anyway, so.

10. 0:09:58

    Let's get more questions. And we'll, uh-

11. 0:10:03

    Thank you, Senator-

12. 0:10:04

    Yeah

13. 0:10:04

    ... from Savannah.

14. 0:10:06

    No.

15. 0:10:07

    Uh, basically, Senate Bill 540 is dealing with AI chatbots, and I just wanna give some background and just kinda talk high level before I get into the bill. The development of AI chatbots has a value in our society, but also poses risks and harm to children. Kids have begun forming relationships with these chatbots and unable to distin- distinguish human-like coding from an online friend. The impacts of can be heartbreaking. Mental health crises, lack of social skills, and suicide have become some of the social consequences of unchecked AI chatbot usage.

16. 0:10:47

    This bill seeks to protect the next generation of Georgians from destructive AI conversations while still allowing for responsible technological innovation to occur. And I think as most of you know, um, every single minute, second, day, week, month, the evolution of artificial intelligence is changing. Um, we know that there are global circumstances and kind of basically an arms race between the United States and other foreign powers relation- related to national security playing out, um, on national news every day related to AI technologies, um, and also the backdrop that we've seen from the federal government in terms of par- parameters through executive orders or whatnot, um, around artificial intelligence.

17. 0:11:36

    One of the only places that we've seen exceptions to this in terms of some of the federal mandates or requests or whatever, the, the feds always constantly trying to tell states what to do, um, is around child safety, and I think this bill tries to weave and keep that in mind as we, we drafted this. Um, so in terms of kind of the bill itself, just to kind of walk through what's in the bill, basically this bill will end bot friend, uh, delusion.

18. 0:12:07

    A child should never be tricked into thinking a machine is a friend. We are mandating the clear disclosures so that every minor knows exactly when they are talking to a bot. A lifeline is not a replace- and not a replacement. When a child cries out for help, they deserve real-world responses, and we're asking that AI services recognize prompts about self-harm and suicide and immediately provide crisis resources. Addiction is not a feature. We wanna make sure that children aren't drawn into intentionally addictive design features that suck more of their time and attention.

19. 0:12:43

    This bill limits the ability of artificial intelligence to offer rewards and points that encourage increased engagement. Keeping grooming out of coding, ending the era of AI grooming in Georgia, sets a zero ponance tol- policy, tolerance policy for any tech operator that allows chatbots to cross into sexual exploitation or romantic manipulation. We are shielding Georgia's kids and holding operators accountable. Also, we're giving parents the keys to what their kids are doing.

20. 0:13:15

    This empower, empowers parents in privacy and account management tools. We believe the ultimate authority of a child's digital life belongs to the parent, not to the developer. This bill hands the keys back to Georgia families. And on the enforcement piece, we're empowering the attorney general to hold back- bad actors accountable with fines up to half a million dollars. This ensures that the tech giants take Georgia's safety standards seriously. Bottom line is we are making sure that our kids aren't the data points for billion-dollar companies to exploit, and we're ending the era of AI grooming by putting parents in control and hiding behind technology companies, um, to hold them accountable to Georgia values.

21. 0:14:00

    Um, with that, Madam Chairwoman, I will turn it back to you. I know there's a committee sub, and just to briefly address the two minor changes that are in the bill. Um, one, it strikes out the word "develops" on line 43. We want to ensure we're capturing operators that own, control, and make available conversation AI service to the public. And secondly, we struck out, quote, unquote, "minor account holders" on line 71. We wish for the operators to only provide parents' and guardians' the ability to manage the minor's accounts, privacy, and account settings.

22. 0:14:40

    You have the sub?

23. 0:14:41

    Yeah.

24. 0:14:41

    And we've got the sub and the original in your folders, so.

25. 0:14:50

    Okay.

26. 0:14:50

    You have it.

27. 0:14:55

    Okay, questions from the committee? Senator Jackson.

28. 0:15:01

    Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, Mr. Chairman, or Leader, actually-

29. 0:15:05

    Jason's just fine.

30. 0:15:09

    Mr. Majority Leader, um, can you talk to me a bit about the age verification process for this? So how would a chatbot, um, be able to know and distinguish between a minor versus an adult? Can you just outline that for us?

31. 0:15:26

    Which part of the bill are you referring to?

32. 0:15:28

    Well-

33. 0:15:29

    Or are you just talking in general?

34. 0:15:29

    It's kind of in, in total, yeah-

35. 0:15:31

    Okay

36. 0:15:31

    ... because if this is geared directly towards minor protections. And so I'm just curious about what would be required in order for the app to distinguish and to know that they are dealing with a minor versus an adult.

37. 0:15:44

    So I think what we're trying to do, again, with this bill, um, is basically to, to manage the chatbots themselves. Um, as we're going through and I think and know that as AI and these bots are basically, um, recognizing or, you know, coding for if somebody's entering into a conversation, um, whether self-harm, suicide, um, or other situations or how the conversation is, that that's recognized and it's basically flagged by AI.

38. 0:16:19

    Right. Um, I, I understand your intent. Uh, if you'll yield again, um, I, I guess I just don't understand how it would actually work in, in real time in terms of it being able to distinguish and say, "Okay, there are these parameters that the chatbot can," I guess, talk to adults and create... Uh, some of this stuff is bad for adults, too, by the way, but, um but it... How, how does the chatbot know the difference between the parameters for a minor versus those for an adult?

39. 0:16:52

    So I know on, on line 45 of the bill, it basically talks about the operator shall clearly and conspicuously disclose to a minor account holder that he or she is interacting with conversational AI service, um, with visible disclaimers, um, and then the language that follows that.

40. 0:17:12

    Okay.

41. 0:17:16

    So, um, Mr. Leader, so on line, um, 42, the bill says a minor account, which means an account has a minor account holder. It, it just says they have to figure out who's a minor. It just doesn't say how they have to do that. Correct?

42. 0:17:35

    Correct.

43. 0:17:38

    Yeah. Senator Harrell, number four.

44. 0:17:42

    So if it doesn't say how they figure out it's a minor to me, and tell me if you think I'm correct, um, that would mean that it's left up to the possibility that everyone would have to show an ID in order to show that they are not a minor. It does seem to me that it leaves it open to that as a way of verifying age, which is a problem in terms of privacy.

45. 0:18:17

    Did you address that when you were putting that together?

46. 0:18:22

    Um, in terms of identification, no, there, there's not identification listed in this.

47. 0:18:29

    That's about-

48. 0:18:30

    Okay. Other questions? Yeah, Senator Hatchett.

49. 0:18:35

    I like what we're doing with this. I saw a statistic earlier today that 73% of teenagers engage with, like, companions, AI companions. Is that... Are you aware of that?

50. 0:18:51

    Yeah, I know it's a pretty high number. I don't know if it's 70%, but it's probably north of 70%.

51. 0:18:56

    And then half of those engage with them on a daily basis. So my understanding is that these kids right now are becoming friends with these AI chatbots that look like real people on their phone. They design them, and it's just another reason why we've got to do something, so I'm really glad you're bringing this piece of legislation. My, my only c- question with this is

52. 0:19:27

    the attorney general may bring civil enforcement actions for violations up to $1,000 per violation. But no operator shall be fined more than $500,000. That's only 500 kids for one operator. So beyond that, is there any other enforcement mechanism or teeth to this? And would you be willing to work together to maybe put a little more teeth into this bill?

53. 0:19:56

    Yeah, I mean, Senator, I'm, I'm... Yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm fine with that. I mean, I think what I'm trying to do is, um, write a law that, I mean, all these laws are gonna get caught up in federal court, just like when we wrote Senate Bill 351. So if I think that it's not, then I'm being foolish, but I think in terms of kind of where, you know, federal executive guidance or non-guidance has been given, this is basically trying to address that because I know Congress, since they're broken, is not going to take on this issue.

54. 0:20:29

    And I think at the same time, you know, the feds wanna avoid having 50 different policies in 50 different states. But right now, currently on the Georgia law, under Georgia law, there is nothing addressing this. So basically, this is the first, f- first step and attempt to, I think, move down that road. And if, and if you have ideas, um, underlines 80 to 82 in terms of the penalties to increase it to be the, you know, the standard bearer for America, then let's chat.

55. 0:20:58

    All right. Well, I'll look forward to working with you on that. I would like to make sure we give the attorney general as much enforcement power as we can. I appreciate your leadership on this issue.

56. 0:21:09

    Thank you.

57. 0:21:11

    Other questions? We do have some people signed up to testify, so why don't we get to that.

58. 0:21:18

    Um, Mike Griffin, will you go to the podium?

59. 0:21:26

    Thank you, Madam Chair. My name is Mike Griffin. I'm the public affairs representative for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, and we do support Senate Bill, uh, 540. We appreciate Senator Avatarte for all he's doing in helping protect our children. And, you know, I've testified last time we met, and, uh, we do represent a large portion of Georgians, up to 1.4 million Georgians in our state. And one of my three areas, uh, that I represent for Georgia Baptist is child protection policy, and I've done, uh, 18 classes over the last three years dealing with child sex abuse prevention.

60. 0:22:04

    And, um, we're living in a day now that there is, um, a whole lot of AI snakes that are sneaking in on our kids today. It has gotten so dangerous. And I'm constantly reminded of what Jesus said, and that makes the biggest difference in my life. When he said in Luke 17:2, he said basically, "It'd be better that a millstone be tied about your neck and cast into the deepest part of the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble." And I really do appreciate, um, you, Madam Chair, and your committee.

61. 0:22:39

    I think this is one of the most important committees at the Capitol when it comes to deal with, with children and families. It's so very important. And we are for this protection, and there's no doubt from what you just heard from the senator here, um, that there's a lot of things going on that are tricking kids to getting into stuff. Uh, one of the areas I deal with, a- again, with child protection policy, it has to do with the grooming. And so much of that now since 2020 has started online, and a lot of the thing, the predators are working online.

62. 0:23:14

    And, um, I, I saw s- statistics, uh, way back, and Eric Erickson, I heard him say it, so I know it's true, right? Just a little humor. But, um, but someone on his c- his show was talking about the fact that the majority of kids are not necessarily, uh, looking for pornography. The pornography's looking for them. It's coming for them, and so that's the same thing I've heard also on the sexual predator. It's gone th- uh, much higher than what it used to be before 2020 on the online thing.

63. 0:23:44

    So I think that what you're doing here is very important, so we support this bill and appreciate your, uh, approval of it. Thank you.

64. 0:23:52

    Uh, question-

65. 0:23:53

    Yes

66. 0:23:53

    ... Senator Hatchett.

67. 0:23:56

    Thank you for testifying. And I had mentioned earlier about these AI companions. Are you seeing that? Are you, or have you heard anything about the AI companions that the kids are having? That was alarming to me when I saw that too.

68. 0:24:08

    Yeah, I've not seen that data and that information. A lot of what I deal with has to do with churches and how they have proper policies when they're dealing person to person situations is what I've been dealing with mostly. But I've heard the data and the information. I work with Ministry Safe. We do cooperate with them. Greg Love from Texas, uh, we are partnered with them as Georgia Baptist, and so we do work with them on that issue.

69. 0:24:35

    Well, if you are able to get any of that data and share it with the committee, share it with the lieutenant governor's office. I know, you know, Lieutenant Governor Jones started this committee. He's got the same type of heart that I have for kids-

70. 0:24:48

    Yeah

71. 0:24:49

    ... and has really led on this issue. And I think we as a Senate could kind of be trailbl- blazers in this area. So if you get any of that data, please share it with us.

72. 0:25:00

    Sure, and I can reach out to Greg, uh, see about doing that. We're promoting, uh, an hour-long webinar every month with him through the end of the year that he's doing. Matter of fact, it's on, I think it's on Thursday, uh, this week. But, uh, I can see what we can do about getting that information for you.

73. 0:25:15

    Thank you.

74. 0:25:16

    Sure.

75. 0:25:16

    Thank you, Senator Harrell.

76. 0:25:18

    I was just gonna say, Senator Hatchett, that I can vouch for that information. That is correct, um, that I think you said 73%, that those are the numbers that I've heard, that about 73% of kids are using companion chatbots. The distressing thing is that their parents, uh, many, many, many of the parents don't know what a companion chatbot is yet because they're so new.

77. 0:25:42

    Uh, Senator Setzler sent me a video of some y'all had in y'all's hearing during the summer of someone giving testimony about a child committing suicide, uh, based off of some of that information that was gotten through those chat boxes. So it's very dangerous. Yes, thank you.

78. 0:25:59

    Thank you very much. Uh, next, Brooke Mills.

79. 0:26:13

    Thank you. Um, first and foremost, I apologize for, um, for my apparel. Um, my family has just lay- laid a member to, to rest, so things like laundry have fallen a little bit to the wayside. So I am a lit- little less put together than I would like. First and foremost, I wanna m- I, I wanna make it clear, I, I appreciate the bill brought to, um, to the f- the fore here. I appreciate what, what the, what Senator Anavitarte has, has done here. Simply put, these AI chatbots have been wreaking havoc on kids.

80. 0:26:46

    We've, w- we've ha- dealt with suicide, we've dealt with sexual grooming, but I share many of the same concerns that, um, that s- uh, um, Senator Jackson has with the age verification mechanism, or the lack thereof, and the lack of clarity on it, especially with line 42. Since we have enacted age verification policies here in Georgia, tens of thousands of Georgians have had their personal identification leaked onto the dark web. We have tens of hundreds of Georgians who have had their, their ident- identities stolen and are now victims of credit fraud, credit theft, i- identity theft.

81. 0:27:26

    And simply put, th- this isn't necessarily the right tool to, to manage it. W- it would be much better if we simply do a much broader, more tailored approach to, to AI chatbots because li- like many of y'all have said, we're dealing with chatbots that are inherently harmful to not just youth, but adults too. Um, these data hallucinations that are dreaming up some, some truly awful things, trying to introduce explicit conduct to vulnerable minors, and this absolute abdication by parents in overseeing their child's upbringing, and regulating, controlling those aspects of their, their children's digital lives is absolutely troubling.

82. 0:28:16

    I don't believe this is the right tool to deal with that one.

83. 0:28:21

    Thank you. Any questions? Okay, Polly McKinney.

84. 0:28:33

    Hi, I'm Polly McKinney. I'm advocacy director of Voices for Georgia's Children. I'll be very quick 'cause I know you have a lot to do today. Uh, we rise in favor of this bill. Um, and a lot of it is because of the stuff that we know about kids. Uh, you know, the prefrontal cortex part of the brain that is crucial for decision-making isn't really developed until they're in their 20s. Chatbot social understanding about when to encourage users and when to discourage or disagree with them is not well tuned. Um, and they use language models that give users what they deem to be the preferred answer.

85. 0:29:04

    Um, for adolescents still learning how to form healthy relationships, these systems can reinforce distorted views of intimacy and boundaries. Um, and individuals with depression, anxiety, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, bipolar, on and on and on, may already struggle with rumination, emotional dysregulation, and compulsive behavior, and chatbots can reinforce these behaviors through their constant availability. So we are all in favor of not just this bill, but the work that's going on by this committee, and many of the sponsors who are trying to get this right.

86. 0:29:35

    Um, and that's all I have to say on that bill.

87. 0:29:42

    Thank you.

88. 0:29:42

    Thank you.

89. 0:29:42

    Any questions? Okay. That's everybody we had signed up on this bill. What's the will of the committee?

90. 0:29:51

    Madam Chair?

91. 0:29:52

    Yep.

92. 0:29:54

    Um, I'd like to offer a friendly amendment.

93. 0:29:58

    Okay, we need a do pass motion first.

94. 0:30:00

    Do pass.

95. 0:30:00

    Move do pass.

96. 0:30:01

    Do pass.

97. 0:30:02

    A second?

98. 0:30:06

    Okay, second.

99. 0:30:07

    Yes.

100. 0:30:07

     Okay, now you can speak to-

101. 0:30:09

     I wanna-

102. 0:30:09

     ... the amendment

103. 0:30:10

     ... thank the author for the bill. I wanna thank, uh, Senator-

104. 0:30:13

     Pull your mic closer, please.

105. 0:30:14

     I'm sorry. I wanna thank the author for the bill, and the, uh, and, uh, s- the senator, um, from the hills of Habersham for his concern here. I'd like to, uh, ask that the c- committee consider on lines 80 through 82, this deals with the attorney general may bring civil enforcement actions for violations of this code section by, for punitive relief or civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation. Put a period after violation and strike the provided however that no operator shall be fined more than $500,000.

106. 0:30:50

     That would put more teeth in this bill.

107. 0:30:53

     So you're saying just end the sentence after the word violation?

108. 0:30:57

     That is correct.

109. 0:30:58

     And take away the maximum, uh, penalty? Okay, so you're, that's a motion?

110. 0:31:06

     That's a motion for amendment.

111. 0:31:07

     Okay. We have a second?

112. 0:31:09

     Second.

113. 0:31:10

     Okay. Any other amendments? Okay, all in favor, raise your hand.

114. 0:31:20

     Okay. Any opposed? I don't think so. Okay, so that is, that amendment's passed. Any other amendments? Okay, so we have a motion to pass, and that would be on the bill as amended. So any other discussion? Yeah, Senator Jackson.

115. 0:31:42

     Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanna note, uh- My deep appreciation to Mr. Majority Leader for bringing this bill, the intentions behind it, and just want to name my unreadiness about this bill. It has everything to do with privacy and, uh, the lack of clarity around how we do age verification. So I just wanna make that clear before we vote.

116. 0:32:02

     Okay, any other discussion? Senator Harrell.

117. 0:32:05

     Um, I have a very similar feeling about this. Um, having co-chaired the study committee on keeping kids safe online, we struggled and struggled and struggled with the concept of age verification. Um, and to not have that addressed at all in this bill to me is, is just a, a big, a big miss. Um, and we're gonna have a hearing on my age appropriate design code, and I'll be able to talk to the committee about how age verification is handled.

118. 0:32:39

     Um, it's, it's a really tricky thing, and to not deal with it at all, um, in something that's gonna go forward as, as law, um, is concerning, very concerning to me.

119. 0:32:52

     Thank you. Any other discussion? Okay, we're voting on the bill as amended. It's LC 560634S. All in favor raise your hand. All opposed. Okay, your bill passes, moves on to rules. Thank you. Thank you, and that's as amended. Thank you.

120. 0:33:20

     We're going to have... Next we're gonna have a hearing on Senator Harrell's Senate Bill 495. We have someone observing, uh, I, I think who's an expert to answer questions if there are any, but, uh, not to testify. And we do have some people signed up to testify. I have five people signed up to testify.

121. 0:33:58

     Laura Scherz.

122. 0:34:00

     Thank you.

123. 0:34:07

     Um, thank you, uh, Madam Chairwoman, uh, and members of the committee. It is my pleasure to present to you a committee substitute to House Bill 495, um, Sen- Senate Bill 495. Uh, Senate Bill 495 started as a 21-page document that if you look online has 40 signatures of the 56. That's a good, um, representation of Democrats and Republicans who signed onto this bill, um, showing that this issue has been a bipartisan issue all the way through from the beginning of our study committee till, till now, and I'd like to see it stay that way.

124. 0:34:49

     Um, I... It, it is entitled The Age Appropriate Design Code. This bill is about limiting addictive design features for minors. Um, I have whittled this 21-page bill down to an eight-page bill. So the bill we are going to be working from is LC640078S.

125. 0:35:15

     I'm going to read to you a, an excerpt from the book The Anxious Generation, um, by Jonathan Haidt. It says, "One morning on a family trip to Vermont in 2016, my six-year-old daughter was playing a video game on my iPad. She called out to me, 'Daddy, can you take my iPad away from me? I'm trying to take my eyes off, but I can't.'" This is due to purposeful design.

126. 0:35:47

     Um, companies started to figure out that the longer they kept kids and adults engaged on games and social media, the more data they could collect that they could sell, and therefore make more money. So they started, uh, changing the design of social media so that it would be more engaging so they could make more money. But over the last couple of... or aft- over the last 10 years or so, we've dis- we've discovered that that is bad for children.

127. 0:36:21

     So you're starting to see all this, um, anxiety and, and depression, and we certainly heard a lot about this in our study committee. Um, so I've decided of all the things that we could work on in terms of what our study committee wanted, the most impactful thing would to be to address design. Not to get rid or ban social media, 'cause that clearly has First Amendment concerns. But to, to deal, and not to co- uh, moderate content, because that has free spee- free speech concerns.

128. 0:36:57

     But to, um, to, to regulate d- design. And so I am going to go through the bill with you kind of line by line. Um-

129. 0:37:12

     If you could sort of keep it as concise as you can so that we can get a little bit of testimony in. I know it's complicated.

130. 0:37:20

     Okay. Well, the first four pages of the eight pages has to do with definitions, and I won't bore you with those except to bring your attention to how this bill deals with age verification. Um,

131. 0:37:41

     data.

132. 0:37:45

     Line 82

133. 0:37:52

     Reasonably likely to be accessed means an online service, product, or feature that is reasonably believed to be accessed by a minor based on the following indicators. It refers to the federal code that was passed in 1996, um, which is the last time Congress really took any action to deal with social media, and, um, that the covered entity knew or should have reasonably known that at least 2% of the audience of the online service, product, or feature is composed of minors.

134. 0:38:22

     So in other words, we are saying to the companies, "You know on your platforms, you know if you have minors on your platforms." They have that data already. So we're saying they use their own data to determine if there are at least 2% of the, of all the people that are using the platform, if 2% or more are minors, then they're covered under this bill. They have to, they have to, um, they have to comply with what the requirements are in the bill.

135. 0:38:55

     So therefore, there is no ID, no face scans, or any of that required. But you know, we did deal with it here. We, we said how they would determine if, um, if the bill applies. Um, so then we wanna look at line 92. There's a whole... We don't just say no harmful or addictive design. We're actually referring specifically to the features that research has shown are addictive, and also we're doing things to protect their, their data.

136. 0:39:33

     So I'll just quickly go through the list, and particularly for the public that doesn't have a copy of this bill, the list of the things that they cannot do if they have minors on their platform. They cannot use, sell, or retain personal data. They can't use pro- previously collected data. Um, they cannot permit anyone to monitor or track the, the minor, um, without there being a signal to the minor that they are being tracked or monitored. Um, they cannot use personal data to recommend or prioritize media for the consumer in an algorithmic feed, and that's a really important one.

137. 0:40:14

     That's the one that says, "Because you clicked on something before, now we're gonna feed you lots and lots and lots of the same thing." Um, that's really important. We're not gonna allow any push notifications between midnight and 6:00 AM. That's to protect sleep, which has been a real big problem with, uh, uh, with, uh, minors with social media and gaming. We're not gonna have any continuous feed video playing, no intermittent variable rewards like the little six-year-old, um, had an issue with, no infinite scroll, anything else that's intended to cause compulsive use.

138. 0:40:49

     Um, and we're not gonna have, in our design, we're not gonna have a single setting to opt out of more than one protection in this bill, and we're not gonna, um, prompt a consumer to opt out any of more than one protection that's listed under this bill. So why am I bringing up opt out? A- all of that list of, um, harmful or addictive design features cannot be used with minors, but they're also gonna be, um, default.

139. 0:41:20

     They're, they're not gonna come up by default for, um, people older than 18. Um, in other words, if you're gonna have... Y- you're gonna provide an option for somebody over 18 to choose to have these addictive features. They're gonna have to opt into them, and this is the component of the bill that really has the possibility of, um, improving all of society because this isn't just a kid problem. We all have this problem.

140. 0:41:51

     We're all in our own bubbles. And so these addictive features are not gonna by default be in adult accounts. If they want it, they can have it, but they have to choose to have it. Um, in addition, we're going to say that you, um, that y- you can't have, like, algorithmic, um, design features that connect a minor, um, with an adult. Now, if they're friends with the adult ahead of time, that's fine, but we're not g- uh, uh, we can't have design that says, that suggests a, a child connect with an adult.

141. 0:42:32

     Um, and there's some really important information that shows this is becoming a big problem. There's data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that shows the reports of adults communicating with children for the purposes of sexual exploitation, including grooming, solicitation, and sextortion, nearly tripled in just one year, from 187,000 i- in 2023 to 546,000 in 2024, and exceeded 1 million in 2025.

142. 0:43:04

     So we're gonna work on those design features that connect, that where the design feature encourages connection with a minor and an adult.

143. 0:43:18

     Um, in addition, the bill says that, um, companies shall configure all default privacy settings provided to a minor to the highest level of privacy. Um, enforcement on, I'm trying to go quickly. Enforcement on line 156, um, is enforceable by the attorney general, but our testimony the other day, um, said that this was really pretty inadequate for enforcement, so there has, um, been included a private right of action.

144. 0:43:52

     Um, in conclusion, line 80- 184, um, there's a non-discrimination and retaliation ... clause. And that summarizes the bill. Um, shall I take questions or move on to-

145. 0:44:08

     Uh, let's, let's hear some testimony first. We've only got 20 minutes and we've got another bill. So, um, let's try to move quickly. You can stay there if you like.

146. 0:44:21

     Okay.

147. 0:44:22

     Or you can come back to your seat. Either way.

148. 0:44:24

     I'll stay.

149. 0:44:25

     And I'm gonna first ask people who have not testified yet to start and then we'll move to people, if we have time, who have already testified on the other bill. So, uh, Angela Flanagan.

150. 0:44:44

     Oh wait, is she coming back?

151. 0:44:45

     I'll go.

152. 0:44:46

     Okay.

153. 0:44:49

     It was. Thank you all. Thank you, Madam Chair.

154. 0:44:54

     Okay.

155. 0:44:57

     Hi, my name is Angela Flanagan. I'm the executive director for the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Our academy represents more than 2,000 pediatricians across our state, and we strongly support this bill. Every day in our physicians' exam rooms, we're seeing real-world consequences from these digital platforms that are designed to maximize engagement at the expense of children's health. The bill gives Georgia a meaningful tool to address that harm at its source, which is the design of the platforms themselves.

156. 0:45:30

     If we look at the American Academy of Pediatrics, the national organization, their, um, 20, February 2026 policy statement in Pediatrics Magazine confirms that digital platforms designed around engagement, which includes infinite scrolling, autoplay, reward systems and, and fees based on algorithms, are directly linked to disrupted sleep, lower academic achievement, weaker emotional regulation and increased risk of anxiety, depression and eating disorders in children and teens.

157. 0:46:01

     This bill directly targets those things with the manufacturers. Parents cannot solve the problem alone. The platform design must change. The AAP is very clear. This is not a screen time issue. This is about families not being able to manage this on their own. These platforms are intentionally in- They're irresponsible. They're engineered to be business models, and their business models make money and they depend on it. Safety and privacy by default is exactly what pediatricians recommend.

158. 0:46:32

     The AAP and the Georgia AAP explicitly call for safety and privacy as default settings for minors, including disabling any autoplay, limiting these feeds, restricting push notifications, as mentioned, and protecting children from unwanted contact with strangers. The bill also directly features that are, uh, addresses links that are, uh, linked to child health crises, and we see that a lot here in Georgia. Some of these algorithms that children are seeing, they see in, uh, information on self-harm, eating disorders, dangerous challenges, all of which are documented in pediatric health emergencies.

159. 0:47:11

     This bill would help to eliminate those things.

160. 0:47:16

     Children deserve the right to erase their digital footprint. As mentioned, children's information should be deleted immediately, within 15 days is what the AAP is, is noting. This is common sense protection that gives childrens and, children and families the real control. It, uh, again, it limits any predatory contact with, um, adults, and it calls for accountability through transparency and auditing. The AAP recommends treating digital media companies with the same product safety standards applied to food, cars and medical devices.

161. 0:47:54

     This bill would help to do that. In closing, Georgia's children are spending more time in digital spaces than ever before, and poorly designed platforms are making them sicker. This bill is not about anti-technology, it's pro-child. It asks that the companies profiting from children's attention build their products with children in mind, with their health in mind. Georgia's pediatricians stand fully behind this bill and urge its passage. Thank you.

162. 0:48:23

     Very good. Um, Sharon Winkler. And if you could just, uh-

163. 0:48:31

     A couple minutes

164. 0:48:31

     ... a couple minutes would be great.

165. 0:48:34

     As stated, thank you, Chair Kirkpatrick, for letting me address you again. I wanted to specifically address my 17-year-old son Alex Peyser's issues with algorithmic recommender systems on a social media app. As I mentioned last week, Alex was an honor roll student who was active in theater, band, his church group and Boy Scouts. He had no history of mental issues. Alex died three days after a breakup with his girlfriend.

166. 0:49:05

     We learned of his online activities in his suicide note and through a review of his smartphone after his death. His immature, impulsive brain was influenced by content that he did not request, but was sent to him by an algorithm coded to send him pro-suicide and you'll never find love again content after he had looked at it for mere seconds, a feature designed to enable online advertising auctions.

167. 0:49:36

     Alex would be alive today if the platform he had used had been devel- designed with his developmental needs in mind. There are currently two major lawsuits being held in California and New Mexico that allege that technology companies have misrepresented the safety of their platforms for years. These companies design ca- platforms that addict kids, even if it costs them their lives.

168. 0:50:05

     I thank you for having this, uh, this session, this hearing today, and I urgently, uh, strong- uh, h- you- I-

169. 0:50:14

     Strongly urge

170. 0:50:15

     I strongly urge you to, uh, pass age appropriate design clo- uh, code legislation. Thank you.

171. 0:50:23

     Thank you so much. And, uh, Sarah Hunt Blackwell.

172. 0:50:35

     Thank you, Chair Lady and members of the committee. My name is Sarah Hunt Blackwell. I'm senior policy counsel at the ACLU of Georgia. First, I'd like to thank Senator Harrell for this bill. Um, we were, um, attending the study committee over the summer, and we've seen the progress and all of the research, time and effort that has gone into this legislation, and we really do sincerely thank you for your work on this. Um, we're not here testifying in opposition to the bill, um, but also not here testifying in full support of it either.

173. 0:51:06

     Um, we do still have a few First Amendment concerns based on the, the design features and design limitations that are included in the bill. Um, for example, um, what was line 60, I don't have the new LC so I'm not sure where it may be in the sub now, but, um, defining the definition of a product or service that is engrossing and irresistible for a consumer, um, these terms are k- inherently subjective and user dependent, creating constitutional vagueness concerns and making it difficult for platforms to know what features are regulated.

174. 0:51:44

     As a result, companies may block minors from entire features, such as reels, that are themselves modes of accessing constitutionally protected speech. Um, similar, similar bills have been blocked by the courts on First Amendment grounds. For example, a district court enjoined the California Age Appropriate Design Code Act after NetChoice brought suit, arguing that it violated the First Amendment on its face and various provi- provisions were vague. Um, I also wanted to raise a point that I don't know if has been discussed or considered, but there are a lot of youth influencers and performers whose platforms are based on social media.

175. 0:52:21

     Um, a lot of times their, their, um, accounts are run by their parents, but the whole purpose of those accounts is to attract adult followers, um, so that that child can then get m- more exposure for whatever talent or, um, hobby that they may be sharing on digital spaces. So just keeping that in mind, um, again, not opposing it, but just flagging some First Amendment concerns that remain with this bill, and we're happy to discuss further. Again, thank you for your time to the committee and to Senator Harrell for this bill.

176. 0:52:54

     Thank you very much. Um, Mike Griffin and Polly McKinney, you've already spoken. Uh, did you just wanna-

177. 0:53:02

     Uh, just-

178. 0:53:02

     ... state your support?

179. 0:53:04

     Sure. Say on behalf of Georgia Bats, we do support this bill. Uh, we appreciate Senator Harrell and, uh, 495, this bill. And we thank, uh, Senator Hatchett and Cowsert as well. We support that legislation and really believe this is a no-brainer. This is something we've got to do, and I really do appreciate their dedication on this. Appreciate your support. Thank you.

180. 0:53:24

     Thank you. Polly?

181. 0:53:25

     In support.

182. 0:53:26

     In support. And, uh, Brooke Miles, did you need to say something else?

183. 0:53:32

     Yeah.

184. 0:53:33

     Very brief, please. We've got one more bill we have to vote on.

185. 0:53:41

     First and foremost, any bill that bases its legislative findings on, on the, o- on the basis of an associate of the notorious Jeffrey Epstein has no business anywhere near children. Sec- um, and la- lastly, um, like, like the ACLU mentioned, u- um, this model bill has run up against in, um, in the six other states it's passed, First Amendment due cla- cl- um, due process, 14th Amendment, commerce, superseded by COPPA under the Supremacy Clause and has been enjoined in all, uh, in all six states it's been used in. Kids are already bypassing these age re- um, requirement me- measures using AI fake IDs, stolen IDs, not to mention the fact that it's depressing to see us barreling towards Communist China's mandatory identity li- link here in the United States.

186. 0:54:26

     That is all.

187. 0:54:28

     Thank you very much. Senator Harrell, did you want to briefly close? Or does the committee have any questions? Okay. Do you wanna re- close?

188. 0:54:40

     I mean, I'll just say that I've seen this firsthand. Um, my kids were the guinea pig generation. They got their first smartphones at the end of middle school. Um, this was before anybody knew there should be concerns, and immediately I had concerns. Um, you know, I looked at my, one of my kid's feeds, and it was, it was scary. Very scary what I saw in those, in those feeds. And I think the way the, uh, algor- algorithmic feed works, um, is damaging to kids, and I know, I know that it, it fundamentally changed my kids.

189. 0:55:25

     And to think that while I was putting so much of my effort into r- raising my kids and wanting them to be, you know, healthy adults, um, that there was a company, there were companies out there making conscious decisions to do something to interfere with that, and, and it did interfere, interfere with that, um, it, it leaves a pit in my stomach.

190. 0:55:58

     And we heard so much testimony in the study committee from parents, um, who've experienced the same thing, and, and who, who- Who felt their, that they were losing their children. And they didn't all lose their children, they didn't all end in suicide. Some of them did, and we heard from those parents, too. But, but these, these products, they're so engaging and, and, and s- and so powerful that they become more powerful than the parents. And, and it, you feel like you're losing your children.

191. 0:56:33

     I think the general public knows this. I think they feel it. I think they want us to do something for them. And I think it's on us to pay attention to the parents, not the moneyed interest of the big tech companies who, quite frankly, um, give campaign money to us or to our leadership PACs. I think we need to be listening to the parents and protecting the children. Thank you.

192. 0:57:03

     Thank you very much, and appreciate your hard work on this issue.

193. 0:57:06

     Right.

194. 0:57:09

     Sure. Go ahead, Mr. Chairman.

195. 0:57:12

     Thank you. Senator Harrell, when you say feed, is that, like, in their social media feeds that you're looking at?

196. 0:57:19

     Yes.

197. 0:57:19

     Okay.

198. 0:57:20

     That's, that's... Yes, that's the social media feed. That's how the companies choose to present the information to them. There's a protocol behind it.

199. 0:57:27

     Mm-hmm.

200. 0:57:27

     There's an algorithm be- behind it. They are... The, the, the user doesn't decide what they're gonna look at next.

201. 0:57:36

     Right.

202. 0:57:36

     The company decides that for them based on certain patterns-

203. 0:57:40

     Okay. Got it

204. 0:57:40

     ... that, that is unknown to the user.

205. 0:57:42

     Gotcha. Thank you.

206. 0:57:44

     Thank you, Senator Harrell. And then our last bill is, uh, Senate Resolution 771. Senator Robertson. You, you had a question?

207. 0:57:54

     Yes. Yeah.

208. 0:57:57

     Okay. We have one person testifying.

209. 0:58:03

     So do I need to present?

210. 0:58:05

     Go right ahead.

211. 0:58:05

     Okay.

212. 0:58:06

     Just, and-

213. 0:58:06

     No, she said-

214. 0:58:07

     ... you have 30 seconds

215. 0:58:08

     ... yeah, real quick. Everybody knows what this is. I'm asking to form a study committee to look at adoption alone. Uh, a lot of times it's been coupled up with foster care and other things, and it kinda gets lost in the conversation, but I think in, in 2022, the Dobbs decision put a large responsibility on the State of Georgia, and that's what to do with these children that are available for adoption. And what... I want a study committee so that we can look at ways of making it more affordable for the parents that are, that are wanting their child to be adopted and for those parents that are choosing to adopt children, and that would be the primary focus of this, how we make adoption easier and more affordable here in the State of Georgia.

216. 0:58:49

     Thank you very much. We have one person signed up to testify, Tripp Richardson.

217. 0:59:01

     Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee. My name is Tripp Richardson. I'm here today with Frontline Policy, um, in support of Senate Resolution 771. As this is one of our priorities, we had the privilege of working on this bill with Senator Robertson. And at the end of the day, we all agree that children deserve safe, stable, and permanent loving homes. Adoption priority provides that op- opportunity, but for many families who generally want to adopt, the process and costs alone can be overwhelming. Between home studies, agency fees, legal expenses, and ongoing requirements, the burdens of the process can discourage families who are otherwise ready and qualified.

218. 0:59:40

     This resolution is a thoughtful step forward. It doesn't rush policy changes. Instead, it creates a study committee to bring everyone to the table and take an honest look at what's driving those costs, where barriers exist, and how we can make adoption more accessible without compromising child safety. If we truly want to promote permanency for children, it makes sense to examine how our current system is helping and if there are certain things unintentionally standing in the way. We are grateful to Senator Randy Robertson for bringing this bill forward, and I respectfully ask for your favorable consideration in support of SR771.

219. 1:00:15

     Thank you.

220. 1:00:16

     Thank you very much. Questions for the author? Okay. Senator Jackson.

221. 1:00:23

     It's my great honor, and really in honor of my own children, I make a motion to pass.

222. 1:00:29

     Second? Any further discussion? Okay. All in favor, raise your hand. And it's unanimous. Thank you. All

223. 1:00:37

     Thank you, Madam Chair.

224. 1:00:39

     And we are adjourned. Thank you very much.