Utah has become the first US state to require communication sites to obtain parental consent before their children under the age of 18 use their accounts, which requires platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to verify the age of their users.

The law, which will enter into force in March 2024, comes in response to concerns about the increasing addiction of young people to the use of communication platforms, and to spread safety in the face of several risks such as bullying, exploitation, and the collection of children's personal data.

However, the law prompted technology companies and civil liberties advocates to warn that its implementation could limit the access of Internet resources to adolescents from marginalized groups, in addition to its long-term implications for freedom of expression.

"We are no longer willing to allow social media platforms to continue to negatively affect the mental health of our youth," tweeted Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who signed two related bills Thursday.

The two bills impose on communication sites to give parents full access to their children's accounts, and to adopt a default "ban" by which children are prevented from using accounts at night.

The two projects provide for fines against communication platforms in the event that they target users under the age of 18 with “addictive algorithms”, and also make it easier for parents to sue the designated companies for causing them financial, physical or emotional harm.

"We hope that this law will be a first step for several similar laws in various US states, and we look forward to the federal government taking decisions related to this issue," said Jordan Tuscher, one of the supervisors of the law.

Last month, President Joe Biden called on US lawmakers to impose restrictions on the way communication platforms resort to broadcasting advertisements directed to children and collecting data related to them, accusing major technology companies of adopting a “profit-making” experience on the young American group.

And the California authorities have already passed laws related to online safety, including what is related to imposing strict privacy settings on minors, but the Utah law goes further than that.

Representatives in other states, such as Ohio and Connecticut, are working on similar bills.

Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok provided parents with additional measures to control their children's accounts, such as restrictions on messaging and others related to the time spent by young people using their accounts.