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Price St. Clair /

The COPPA Cops

American teens’ declining mental health prompts a bipartisan push to regulate kids’ use of social media.
Preteen boy concentrating on smartphone with ear buds and bowls of snacks
A Preteen boy concentrates on his smartphone while wearing ear buds. (Photo by: Kurt Wittman/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Teens and young adults in America, and girls in particular, are experiencing record levels of anxiety, depression, and even self-harm and suicide. A growing body of evidence suggests that social media and smartphone use contribute to the crisis.

The main federal statute aimed at protecting children online—the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)—is more than 20 years old.

Price St. Clair is a former reporter for The Dispatch.

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