Tech giants including Meta and Google have spent nearly $1.5 million ($US1 million) campaigning against bills in the US aiming to protect children online.

Recent disclosures reported by New York Post reveal that a large-scale lobbying effort led by some of the biggest tech firms in the world has spent $1.23 million ($US823,235) lobbying lawmakers in Albany, New York, about two bills that would block the use of recommendation algorithms on children and prevent the collection and sale of the personal data of users under the age of 18 years old.

The bills – the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act and the New York Child Data Protection Act – are set to go to a vote next month and have bipartisan support.

But the tech giants have engaged in significant lobbying campaigns against the legislation in an effort to block their passage or water them down.

Up until mid-March, the group of big tech firms, advocacy groups and other companies had spent more than $1 million on lobbying efforts, according to public disclosures.

“This is an astonishing amount of money to be spent to kill two reasonable bills,” an Albany insider told New York Post.

The SAFE Act would block the use of recommendation algorithms by social media platforms on children, requiring chronological feeds be used on people aged 18 years or younger unless they receive parental consent.

This bill would also give parents the ability to implement time limits on their children’s use of social media and in-app notifications.

The Child Data Protection App would prevent tech firms from collecting and selling the personal or location data of users aged under 18 unless they have consent.

For children aged under 13, parental consent would be required.

‘Relatively low impact’

In railing against the potential laws, tech firms have claimed they would impact freedom of speech, reduce online privacy for teenagers, limit internet access for migrants, and hamper algorithms that have been designed to reduce hate speech.

A spokesperson for Meta said the tech giant would support national legislation requiring parental consent when users aged under 16 download apps, not state-based efforts.

“Teens move interchangeably between many websites and apps, and different laws in different states will mean teens and their parents have inconsistent experiences online,” the spokesperson said.

“As we continue working with New York lawmakers, it’s crucial that we avoid quick fixes and, instead, support legislation that actually empowers parents and supports teens online.”

Aussie crackdown

The lobbying effort comes as these tech giants face similar legislative efforts in Australia aiming to better protect children online, particularly on social media.

The South Australian government recently unveiled plans to ban children from social media, with those aged under 14 banned from it entirely while those aged 15 or 16 needing parental permission.

The federal government will also move forward with an age verification trial which would prevent children from accessing online pornography and other age-restricted content.

A new Parliamentary Select Committee into the influence and impacts of social media on Australian society is also set to be launched, which will look into algorithms, recommender systems, and the corporate decision-making of digital platforms in influencing what people see online.

Elon Musk’s X has been locked in a legal battle with the federal government’s eSafety Commissioner over attempts to block videos of a stabbing inside a Sydney church.