Hochul: 'Very productive conversations' on social media regulation bills; Weinstein bill moves in Senate

Plus: a new Siena poll shines light on how voters feel about end-of-session issues.

Good afternoon — it’s Wednesday and LCA show day.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2024

TODAY’S CAPCON:

• A pair of bills to regulate social media companies are inching closer to a vote from the Legislature.

• The state Senate was expected to approve a bill Wednesday in response to N.Y.’s top court granting Harvey Weinstein a new trial.

• Republicans push back on a packaging reduction bill. Here’s where it stands in the Legislature.

• A new Siena poll shows how voters feel about issues being considered in the remaining days of session.

• On The Bill: Legacy admissions

🔨 Is Tomorrow a Session Day? Yes.

🌞 Tonight’s Weather: Albany: Chance of storms, high 60s. New York City: Slight chance of storms, high 60s. (National Weather Service)

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(Will Waldron/Times Union)

📱 “Very productive conversations” on regulating social media companies, Hochul says

💻 Hochul said the pair of bills are her “priority” before the legislative session is scheduled to end in early June.

I showed up to Gov. Kathy HOCHUL’s Red Room announcement on youth mental health a few minutes early, and immediately noticed who was in the room.

• Among the guests were Sen. Andrew GOUNARDES, Assemblywoman Nily ROZIC, New York State United Teachers President Melinda PERSON, and staff from the attorney general’s office.

So I thought it might be an announcement of a deal on a pair of bills that would regulate how social media platforms interact with children.

• Those bills’ lead sponsors are Gounardes and Rozic.

• Hochul first began to push the bills with them last fall, and tried to negotiate them into the state budget. That didn’t happen.

But I was wrong — the bills’ sponsors don’t have enough votes to pass the measure, and it’s unclear if they will before lawmakers leave the Capitol in June. There are eight legislative session days after Wednesday.

• “We are getting very close,” Gounardes said. “We have a lot of work left to do to get it over the finish line.”

• “It’s our responsibility today, before the end of session, to create a safer digital space by passing these bills,” Rozic said.

One of the bills would require social media companies to serve children chronological feeds, rather than using an algorithm to deliver unsolicited content to them.

• That’s intended to help children avoid negative mental health outcomes from content targeted at them on social media. 

The other bill would place new limitations on how social media companies can collect and use the data of minor users.

📜 So, what’s holding the legislation up?