Two-thirds of Americans believe that a law mandating age verification for social media is necessary to block access for users under 16, according to a survey.

Reuters released the results of the poll on the 9th (local time), conducted jointly with the polling firm Ipsos from July 29 to August 3 among 4,505 American adults.

In the survey, 66% expressed support for a bill that would "require social media companies to use age verification tools."

Those who disagreed accounted for 11%.

Meanwhile, 21% answered neither in favor nor against.

Looking at the approval rates by political party affiliation, 74% of Republican supporters and 69% of Democratic supporters agreed.

This indicates that legislation to prevent teenagers under 16 from using social media enjoys bipartisan support.

Overall, 61% of respondents answered that stronger government oversight of social media companies is needed.

By party, 71% of Democratic supporters and 62% of Republican supporters agreed.

Eighty-five percent of respondents answered that social media can be addictive to children, and a similar proportion viewed it as potentially harmful to mental health.

This poll comes ahead of a trial involving lawsuits by state attorneys general alleging that Meta Platforms designed its products, such as Instagram, to addict teenage users.

Meta has denied the allegations, but stated that if it loses, it could face fines of up to 1,970 trillion won in South Korean currency.

Previously on the 6th, a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay approximately 800 billion won into a youth mental health fund and change the way it operates its platforms for teenage users.

Google, which operates YouTube, recently settled a similar lawsuit with teenage plaintiffs and has begun implementing youth protection measures, such as testing AI-based age verification technology.

The U.S. Congress has not yet passed legislation to protect children on social media.

However, favorability toward social media remained high.

Seventy percent of respondents answered that they enjoy the time they spend on social media, while only 35% reported feeling stressed.

Those who said they spend too much time on social media every day stood at 52%, outnumbering those who said otherwise (43%).

(Photo: Getty Images)