The 2026 Georgia Legislative session is still a month away, but there are still discussions to be had on the Senate floor.
On Wednesday, December 10, a study committee led by Senate Co-Chairs Sally Harrell (D-District 40) and Shawn Still (R-District 48), alongside committee members Marty Harbin (R-16), Sheikh Rahman (D-5), and Ed Setzler (R-37), explored the impact of social media and AI on children. During the public meeting, which was held in room 450 of the State Capitol, platform privacy protections were also discussed.
“We are very optimistic that we are going to have some legislation to protect our kids in this state,” said Still.
According to data in the report, the average time a child spends on their cellphones, whether on social media or communicating, is five hours. The committee is made up of parents and grandparents.
“Our kids instead are online constantly in a defensive state,” Harrell. “This comes at a great cost for our kids.”
The report brought forth by the committee featured five topics that made up the most important chapters. Those topics included education, parental controls, social media and gaming, privacy and design, and digital ownership.
One component of the report will address extending the bell-to-bell cellphone restrictions that were put in place last year to include high school students.
The report was unanimously approved by the committee during the half-hour meeting.
“This is going to be a bipartisan bill,” Still said.
Following the unanimous approval of the report, which now has to make its way down the pathway that is the Georgia Legislature, Still said there has already been internal and external pushback about the report, and to expect more.
“This will be one of the last times we are together and unscathed,” he said. “The technology companies don’t want this.”
Rahman added, “We need to protect our children, and hopefully this becomes a bipartisan bill.” After the meeting, Rahman told The Atlanta Voice about social media, “Our children know a lot more than we will ever know. Things change so fast.”
The first Muslim lawmaker in Georgia, Rahman, said that in private, the tech companies and their representatives have expressed equal amounts of concern for young people on social media and utilizing artificial intelligence. Still, in private, they don’t want bills like the one the committee will push forward to succeed.
“The stock prices are their concern,” he said. “It’s about greed for them. We are looking to protect our children. We are going to need support from the people.”
Janice Mathis was sitting in the gallery, taking notes and nodding along with the senators as they spoke about why the report, and ultimately a bill, was critical. A grandmother of a 13-year-old boy, Mathis, knows how much time her grandson spends on his phone and online. She, too, is concerned.
He’s a smart kid, but I worry that the time spent crowds out the other things he likes to do,” Mathis, an employee at Clark Atlanta University and a lawyer, said.
In many cases, the amount of social media dependence has nothing to do with the quality of parenting, said Setzler.
“This report is a responsibility scheme, not a regulatory scheme,” he said. “It’s not either or, it’s both and.”
In 2026, an election year in which key Georgia seats, including the governor’s, are up for grabs, there will be many topics on the table this coming legislative session. Despite the Capitol being split by two Republican chambers, there might not be as much agreement as that would lead people to believe.
This is also the final legislative session for current Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. It may also be the final session for current State Senators Ruwa Romman (D-97) and Derrick Jackson (D-68), who are running for Governor. Former State Senators Jason Esteves (D-35) and John F. Kennedy (R-18) are no longer holding their respective seats as they focus on campaigns for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.
“We are at a critical point when we can either turn this around or it’s going to get worse,” Harrell said.
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