CALUMET CITY, Ill. — State Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, introduced legislation aimed at keeping teens and their surrounding communities safe from large, disruptive and unlawful gatherings that have recently gained popularity on social media.
“When tragedy strikes, it is up to us to take action to protect our families and communities,” Jones said. “This measure is going to help ensure social media platforms bear the burden of preventing their services from being used as tools to enable dangerous activities.Holding companies accountable for monitoring unlawful activity is nothing new, and when we are called to protect our communities as legislators, we will respond.”
Jones introduced House Bill 5561 with two specific goals in mind: keeping teens safe and holding social media platforms accountable. This legislation takes aim at the increasingly popular “teen takeovers,” a social media trend that continues to grow in popularity and danger. The events often include large groups of teenagers who converge in public centers and streets to disrupt a community event, traffic and pedestrians. Some takeovers have resulted have in serious injury or death for participants and bystanders alike.For example, 14-year-old Armani Floyd was shot and killed during a teen takeover that occurred in the Chicago Loop near the Chicago Theatre last November. Eight other teens were also wounded during the incident.
Jones’ bill makes it a Class A misdemeanor to organize or promote such an event that poses clear risks to young people and the broader community. The bill also requires social media platforms to make an effort to restrict shared content that promotes such events, and states that anyone hurt by an unlawful and large youth gathering can take civil action against a social media platform that allowed for the promotion of the event.
“We always encourage our young people to organize themselves and make their presence known,” Jones said. “However, we hope that they can do so in a way that is focused on being productive and positive rather than destructive and a threat to public safety.”