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Vermont bill would ban cell phone use by anyone younger than 21:
A bill has been introduced in Vermont's legislature that would prohibit anyone under 21 years old from using or possessing a cell phone. However, the bill appears to be more about gun rights than cell phones.
The bill, introduced Tuesday by Democratic Sen. John Rodgers, says those under the age of 21 "are not developmentally mature enough" to posses and use cell phones safely. The bill cites fatal car crash and bullying among teens as reasons for the proposed legislation.
"The use of cell phones while driving is one of the leading killers of teenagers in the United States," according to the bill (PDF). "Young people frequently use cell phones to bully and threaten other young people, activities that have been linked to many suicides."
The bill would make possession or use of a cell phone by anyone under 21 punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The bill says that if those under 21 "aren't mature enough" to possess guns, smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, then the same rule should apply to cell phone use. In recent years, the state has passed laws raising the minimum smoking age to 21 and prohibiting the sale of firearms to anyone under 21.
[...] "I have no delusions that it's going to pass. I wouldn't probably vote for it myself," he told the newspaper.
(Score: 3, Informative) by cykros on Saturday January 11 2020, @09:11PM
This isn't actually a bill that's even being backed by the senator who introduced it, but is rather being introduced to elicit a conversation.
With that in mind, I think that there is probably some room to talk about exactly where regulation may make some sense, and where it obviously doesn't (hence the kneejerk reactions everyone's having to the headline).
I personally think there's room for some school-zone style legislation to put a step up from the school level rules that currently have teachers simply unable to adequately enforce while also attending to their tasks of educating students. Vice Principles across the country have been completely mowed down by the presence of smartphones in schools, and beyond simply being distractions, these things are quite problematic when it comes to bullying, especially when you consider how impossible it is to adequately enforce laws against camera recording in school if you can't keep the smartphones out. Making it illegal for a minor to be in possession of a smartphone on school property under penalty of some sort of civil infraction style punishment, be it fine, community service, or some other non-criminal matter (at least for first offenses...repeat perhaps can get up to criminal).
As far as driving is concerned, many states have good existing laws regarding driver use of handsets. Enforcement is tough and perhaps technology can help here, but there's not a ton of room to really improve without walking all over privacy concerns. And as bad as kids are on this matter, adults are just as problematic...perhaps less only due to not being quite as integrated with them on a lifestyle basis, but this is debatable when you're talking about some urban professionals...
As far as home and other private life, however, I'd have to agree with all the outrage and say "hands off" to the government here, preserving parental sovereignty in their home (nevermind the 18-21 crowd that, you know, DOESN'T live with their parents). The ONE place I'd say is worth leaving room for discussion on that matter is where parental permissiveness becomes tantamount to neglect and abuse. That sort of thing is a lot more nuanced than I'd care to try to delve into on this forum, however.