Indiana lawmakers are advancing legislation to address some of the circumstances surrounding the death of Fishers teen Hailey Buzbee, including reviving language that would require parental consent for young people to have social media.
«This is a different world, and one that we’re all adapting to,» House Speaker Todd Huston said Feb. 9. «I think we’re in a world where this is always going to be looked at every session.»
The 17-year-old Hamilton Southeastern High School student had been missing for nearly a month before police announced they believed her to be dead. She left home on Jan. 5 allegedly with a 39-year-old man they believe she met through online gaming. The man, Tyler Thomas, is charged in Ohio with pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor and tampering with evidence. Ohio search warrants related to Thomas reveal that he had been talking with Buzbee online for more than a year.
Her family, as well as Gov. Mike Braun, have been advocating for changes to state law that would include a «Pink Alert» system ― a way to address a gap in the state’s current emergency alert system for missing people to include situations where there are signs of grooming or other coercive behavior. A petition calling for such changes, as well as online grooming education in Indiana schools, has amassed more than 100,000 signatures. Braun has also called for action to protect kids on social media.
Huston and Statehouse lawmakers representing Fishers announced some new language Feb. 9 that take small steps toward these goals.
Social media restrictions
On the social media front, Buzbee’s alleged luring and death prompted lawmakers to revive some old language that had been stripped from Senate Bill 199 previously, but with some changes.
The language under debate now would require social media companies to use «commercially reasonable means» to determine the age of a person requesting to make an account, and then require parental consent if the request comes from someone under the age of 16.
Social media companies would then have to add a number of limitations to that adolescent’s account: They cannot receive direct messages from or appear in search results from people they don’t follow, they can’t be subject to targeted advertising that’s based on their activity on the platform, and their parent will have access to monitor how much time they are spending on the platform and set limits.
Buzbee’s father Beau came to the House chamber Feb. 9 to testify in support of the language.
«I beg of you, please do not let this opportunity slip away,» he said. “The decisions that you are considering today have the power to save children’s lives.”
Pink Alerts
On the Pink Alert front, Fishers Republican Rep. Chris Jeter said he’ll be adding language to House Bill 1303 on Feb. 10 to expand the factors law enforcement can consider when sending alerts for missing children.
Buzbee’s disappearance wasn’t alerted because she was initially considered a runaway, and did not fall under the definition necessitating an Amber alert. But the language Jeter is proposing would add a number of circumstances to the definition of a «missing» child that would trigger an alert: such as, if officials believe the child’s disappearance occurred under «inherently dangerous» circumstances.
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«This is part of a much larger effort that we’ll engage in over the next year to make sure that our endangerment and child welfare laws are updated to reflect the impact of social media and online sites to child welfare,» Jeter said.
More: Who was Hailey Buzbee? ‘Vibrant… kind’ with passion for journalism
It’s not quite the «Pink alert» advocates are pushing for, but Huston said he expects to prop up a committee over the summer to study a more comprehensive reform to the overall alert system. There’s a balance to consider against overwhelming the system with too many alerts, which runs the risk of lowering the community’s sensitivity to them, he said. But this language is one short-term step.
«I think the first thing is to make sure that they can offer alerts when they feel like it’s this necessary, when there’s endangerment, and as quickly as possible,» he said of the language being introduced Feb. 10.
Legislative leaders have also discussed with Education Secretary Katie Jenner ways that grooming awareness could be incorporated into health standards for K-12 students, Huston said.
Breaking politics reporter Marissa Meador contributed reporting.