Let's not pooh pooh Utah laws that help parents keep their children safe online

It may be tempting to dismiss the new Utah law — the first in America — that gives parents full control of children’s social media.

How are parents in Utah going to limit TikTok and Instagram use and impose an overnight ‘curfew’, one might wonder.

Will Utah’s children not rebel if their parents continue to poke and pry into their accounts, including private messages? At the very least, won’t they be so very huffy and unpleasant that weary parents will be forced to give in and allow exceptions to the rules?

All of the above is possible and illustrates the difficulties of parenting in the age of mobile telephony and social media, connectivity.

But that doesn’t mean this Utah law (and a companion piece of legislation) should be dismissed out of hand. The second law goes even further to help parents and discourage tech companies from preying on young children. It will make it easier for parents to sue social media companies for financial, physical or emotional harm and it also sets out fines …