Entering the Time of Age Verification: HB-1408

A new bill has been proposed in the state of Indiana: HB 1408. For context, this bill defines anybody under the age of 16 as an adolescent. This bill will require children to be 16 or older to be able to use some social media sites without parental consent. This means that some applications are going to require some sort of age verification. This has been implemented recently in other places around the United States and even Australia. The bill was a response to the Hailey Buzbee situation where a teenager met up with an adult and was murdered. 

Students who attend BHS and fall under the adolescent category will be affected by this new bill. 

“I think that it can help younger age groups, if they get it, they can be blocked from the bad things that happen on it,” freshman Jamie Licha said. 

This part of the bill, most people support, although there are cases for teenagers and younger high schoolers where it will obviously affect them. 

“In some cases where people are just using it to communicate with other friends within the school, I guess that could like that, could mess with some stuff, but in total, it could be a good thing,” freshman Gabriel Guerrier said. 

It may be that Indiana requires its residents to upload a selfie or a picture of their ID to verify their age. Adolescents will be banned unless a parent or guardian provides written consent to the social media company. The bill has been signed by the speaker and president of the senate.