The effects of phones and social media on teenagers — and adults — continues to be at the center of public health, tech, civil liberties and more. In March, Utah’s Republican governor, Spencer Cox, signed an extensive package of laws intended to limit kids’ access to social media platforms, including time restrictions and requirements that parents and guardians have access to private messages and posts. Utah’s laws were among the first in a tranche of actions by state governments, like those of Montana and Louisiana, which have greatly limited access to certain social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, either for minors or all users. Some researchers have alleged that social media is responsible for increases in anxiety and depression. But the governor told me he wasn’t worried.

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Persons: —, Spencer Cox, ”, balk Organizations: Republican, Utah Locations: Montana and Louisiana