A total of 18 states have passed legislation requiring age verification for social media.
Wisconsin is not one of them, but conversations could be coming.
Terry Stevenson, the Vice President of Seehafer Broadcasting and a member of the WBA’s Legislative Committee was in Madison with the Committee recently to discuss this exact topic.
He told SeehaferNews.com, “We are not opposed to legislation protecting children and prohibiting certain types of content on social media. We’re just asking for the opportunity to have a seat at the table and have a conversation and talk about what that could look like from a broadcaster’s standpoint.”
Stevenson noted that broadcasters in radio and television use social media for a variety of reasons, including sharing news stories that impact the local community.
This brings up some legal questions.
“What are some of those liabilities from a broadcaster standpoint?” he asked. “If, for example, we are pushing out news and some of the news may be considered sensitive and minors see that sensitive news story, who is liable for something like that?”
He said the WBA just wants to make sure they are able to make sure the broadcasting industry is not negatively impacted by any potential legislation.
The WBA also addressed artificial intelligence and items related to Freedom of Information requests and redactions with the representatives in Madison.