Rob Sand Prioritizes Iowa Kids in New Policy Plan

“I think [it] is a common sense approach to trying to make sure that kids not only get some of the benefits of social media by the time they are late teenagers or early adults but they also learn those lessons about why it is important to have real connections with people,” said Dr. Douglas Gentile, a professor at Iowa State University.

DES MOINES, IA – Yesterday, nominee for governor Rob Sand released his Kid Tech Safety plan to help keep Iowa’s kids safe online and hold Big Tech companies accountable. Rob’s plan includes eliminating “infinite scrolling,” requiring independent audits of social media algorithms, and increasing punishments for online predators. Our laws – and elected officials – haven’t kept pace with technology.As a parent, prosecutor, and public servant, Rob will work to put kids ahead of Big Tech’s profits and give parents more tools to keep their children safe. Read Rob’s full plan HERE.

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KGAN: Rob Sand proposes banning social media for minors 15 and younger

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Iowa Capital Dispatch: Democrat Rob Sand calls for social media age limit in kids’ tech safety plan

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand said he supports banning social media for children under age 16, setting age verification and parental consent requirements on certain apps and providing more safeguards for minors online, according to a kids’ online safety policy platform released Monday.
“The bottom line to me on a lot of this stuff, is that real life matters, and we want our kids to learn that real life matters,” Sand said. “You know, we play a lot of board games as a family, we’ll have reading nights, we hunt, we fish. We do activities that involve interacting with each other and finding ways to have fun, that have existed for hundreds of years, that actually build relationships and build confidence and build grit. … A lot of this, to me, is just pointing us towards things that can be good for us, when social media, at the end of the day, is conclusively — even from the social media company’s own studies — bad for children.”
Sand’s policy platform includes requiring users’ data be protected and that only “pertinent age information” is shared with app developers.
“But I also want to emphasize this — when you’re in uncharted territory, with a new technology that you know is hurting children, the answer is not … to do nothing. The answer is to do something,” Sand said. “And if it doesn’t work perfectly, then adjust, and keep trying, keep doing it.”

KGAN: Rob Sand proposes banning social media for minors 15 and younger

Democratic candidate for governor Rob Sand says he supports Iowa’s new law limiting student access to screens in classrooms, but says more needs to be done to protect children online.
“Nothing is more important than keeping our kids safe, and today, that increasingly means figuring out how to keep them safe online. As a dad and former prosecutor, this has always been my top priority. That’s why today (Monday) I’m releasing a comprehensive plan that aims to help keep Iowa kids safe online,” said nominee for governor Rob Sand. “That starts with getting them offline and focused on just being kids. As governor, I’ll build on my record of keeping kids and communities safe across our state by holding Big Tech companies accountable for exploiting and profiting off of our kids.”
“I think [it] is a common sense approach to trying to make sure that kids not only get some of the benefits of social media by the time they are late teenagers or early adults but they also learn those lessons about why it is important to have real connections with people,” said Dr. Douglas Gentile, a professor in liberal arts and sciences at Iowa State University.
“It’s hard to be a parent and have some of your kids friends be on social media but you know that they shouldn’t be, your kid shouldn’t be on social media yet,” said Chris Snider, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Drake University. “I love the idea as a parent because if I can just say to my kids look you can’t be on until you’re 16 then I’ve got more time to educate them. They’ve got more time to mature and be able to handle social media.”

Radio Iowa: Rob Sand backs ban on social media accounts for kids

Rob Sand, the Democrat running for governor, says it’s time to ban social media accounts for children under the age of 16 and to require parental consent before 16- and 17-year-olds may have their own social media account.
Sand said “study after study” has linked social media use among children to higher rates of anxiety, depression, sleep loss and other mental health challenges. “These social media companies know that they are damaging our kids’ mental health and they don’t care,” Sand said Monday.
“I’m not going to sit here and do nothing when we know they are happy to addict our kids to their product when they know it’s bad for their mental health,” Sand said.
Sand uses a smartphone app that limits his own social media use to 10 minutes a day. Sand said his overarching goal with this set of proposals is to get kids off-line and focused on just being kids and that includes his own nine- and 12-year-old sons.

Iowa Starting Line: Rob Sand wants Iowa to take on Big Tech over kids’ safety

Democratic governor nominee Rob Sand released a plan Monday to ban social media for Iowans under age 16, require age verification at the app-store level, and force companies to stop hooking children on “infinite scroll” feeds. It’s the most detailed kids’ tech safety proposal any Iowa candidate has put to paper this cycle, landing just three days after Republican US Senate candidate Ashley Hinson held her own event on protecting kids online, Iowa Capital Dispatch first reported.
“A lot of this, to me, is just pointing us towards things that can be good for us, when social media, at the end of the day, is conclusively—even from the social media company’s own studies—bad for children,” Sand told Iowa Capital Dispatch in an interview unveiling the plan.
Sand’s answer to that, in his interview with the Capital Dispatch, was blunt: waiting for a perfect law isn’t an option:
“The answer is to do something,” he said. “And if it doesn’t work perfectly, then adjust, and keep trying, keep doing it.”