BATON ROUGE - Protecting children online has been a nationwide conversation and Louisiana lawmakers have taken the first step in adding legislation to make sure parents know what their kids are doing on the internet. 

Senator Patrick McMath says there are dangers on social media and would like to give parents more tools to keep their children safe from what they could be seeing on the platforms. 

The Senate Committee of Appropriations discussed the bill, which says social media companies must verify the age of each existing account holder. If the user is a minor, then a parent or legal guardian must give consent to open a new account or keep an existing one. 

"I think everyone understands the harms that social media are causing our youth," McMath said. "It has aided in the public health crisis we see in this country and in the state."

There was some push back during the two-hour debate. State Rep. Thomas Pressly says age verification steps are already in place on some platforms and may not be necessary. 

"Certainly YouTube has an age verification and parental controls now," Pressly said. "Parents go and set those parental controls as they deem appropriate."

While many committee members understand what McMath is trying to achieve with the bill, Rep. Edmond Jordan says it will be too difficult to regulate and minors will find ways to get around the proposed obstacle. 

"I could create a VPN right now and I could jailspoof this," Jordan said. "That's not some great technology. I can do that fairly simply right now." 

The bill is still pending approval to move onto be heard on the Senate floor.