A bill prohibiting some Hoosier minors from using social media without their parent’s permission got bipartisan support in the Senate Thursday and now moves to the House for further consideration.

Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, said the bill doesn’t try to regulate or define one specific app but broadly applies the prohibition to any social media site. Under the proposal, anyone under the age of 16 would need to secure permission from their guardians before accessing apps like Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.

It is up to the individual social media site to choose a mechanism to prove parental permission.

“We’re telling (the social media sites) what we want. How they do it is up to them,” said Bohacek, who authored the bill requiring age verification for pornographic sites last year.

A provision that allowed parents to sue companies for violating the measure was amended out in committee.

“My goal of the bill is not to just fill the court with lawsuits. The goal is to take care of our children and to give our children the best tools,” Bohacek said.

The Office of the Attorney General has the power to issue a civil investigative demand to determine whether a social media site has violated the law, with civil penalties capped at $250,000.

“I don’t think the penalty to multi-billion dollar companies will be the fix. I think the fix will be the embarrassment of not doing the right thing,” Bohacek added.

He pointed to mental health concerns for youth online, as well as targeted advertising practices, as reasons why the bill is needed.

However, it wasn’t unanimously adopted, with five lawmakers — three Democrats and two Republicans — voting against the proposal.

Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, wondered whether it would compel social media companies to authenticate all users, not just youth, though he emphasized his support for the underlying bill.

“They’re essentially going to say we have to have people authenticate because there’s no algorithm that’s going to be perfect,” Pol said.

Bohacek maintained that social media companies have the industry tools needed to meet the bill’s requirement.

Senators also voted to kickstart the constitutional process for changing the name of the auditor’s office to comptroller. A previous office holder said the term comptroller better described her duties because the office distributes funds and doesn’t audit spending.

The name change has already been placed in statute but the Indiana Constitution is a longer process. It must pass two separately-elected legislative sessions and then be placed on a general election ballot for voter approval.

An accompanying bill, though, would forge ahead and change the name of the office to comptroller for the 2026 election cycle.

The legislative body also advanced a bill to continue cutting Indiana’s income tax rate so long as revenues grow.

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WARSAW — A Warsaw Community Schools student was falsely accused and harassed Friday due to a misinterpreted social media post.

According to a news release from the Warsaw Police Department, the police department and Warsaw Community Schools on Thursday night responded to a complaint that was determined to be unfounded.

The message was taken out of context and there was no danger, just a misunderstanding, the statement said.

“Unfortunately, we are faced with the trend of school threats throughout the country and the nearly instant spread of unverified information on social media," the statement said.

"As with this incident, the incorrect narrative continued to evolve after officials announced there was no peril,” the release said.

WPD and WCS urge all students and parents to report suspicious activity; while also heeding the school and law enforcement statements.

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WARSAW -- One can never be too safe, and that’s the approach Warsaw Community Schools is taking in what appears to be a growing era of mass attacks in public places.

On Tuesday, two Warsaw schools, Lincoln Elementary and Lakeview Middle School, took precautionary steps after police received a call about what was deemed a suspicious person nearby.

As a result, parents were notified and the two buildings were placed on a lockout -- which is one step short of a lockdown.

Warsaw Police quickly determined there was no credible threat involving a person who had been seen walking in the area.

The incident happened in the morning and was resolved in a matter of minutes.

Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert expressed appreciation for the cooperation the school district has developed with Warsaw Police and other law enforcement agencies.

He said he doesn't think there are more false alarms happening but thinks theytend to stand out more than what used to be the case.

Student safety remains the top priority. Wednesday’s situation turned out the be good practice, he said.

"Thankfully, in this case, it was somebody who drove by really fastly and they thought they saw something that they didn't see. When police were able to check it out, they were able to put it out very quickly," Hoffert said.

"It was wonderful practice," Hoffert said. "We're always thankful when there isn't an emergency."

Tuesday’s concerns come just days after two mass casualty events in Texas. One was at an outlet mall, the other at a bus stop.

Hoffert said they work to quickly update parents, but social media can exacerbate the situation.

"It is a scary world out there. And with mass communication being the way that it is, we see a lot more of that scariness that is out there," Hoffert said.

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