Momentum Building for Regulation of Social Media Safety. Senate hearing on protecting kids online #4 focused on Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube
Momentum continues to build for creating safety standards for social media platforms to do more to keep kids safe online.
Parents, educators and government leaders are realizing social media companies can’t be trusted to be in charge of these efforts and are working on creating standards of safety that Big Tech needs to follow. We’re excited to be involved in discussions on regulations that protect children and teens and put their safety above anything else.
Here are some recent events:
The mental health of children and teens in the U.S. is declared a national emergency.
Last week the American Association of Pediatrics declared a national emergency in child and teen mental health--based on an alarming increase in depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness and suicidal ideation. We know that social media algorithms and the content they deliver play a part in this mental health crisis and it’s one more sign we need to do something NOW to protect kids.
A fourth United States Senate subcommittee hearing on protecting kids online is scheduled for October 26th and will focus on TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube.
The first 2021 Senate hearing on protecting kids online was on internet privacy and manipulation, then the second hearing focused on Facebook and Instagram as the Wall Street Journal published studies from Facebook showing they know teen mental health suffers on Instagram. The third hearing featured testimony by the Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. Now there’s another hearing tomorrow and this time it’s TikTok, YouTube and Snap (parent company to Snapchat) in the hot seat answering questions on tragic gaps in online safety.
You can tune into the Senate fourth hearing here live 10-1pm ET on Tuesday the 26th (recording available.)
Last week Snap’s CEO Evan Spiegel told the Wall Street Journal Live Conference that government regulation isn’t a substitute for companies working to promote the well-being of their users.
“The important point to make is that regulation is not a substitute for moral responsibility and for business practices that support the health and well-being of your community, because regulation just happens far too late,” said Mr. Spiegel.
He also announced a “Family Center” for Snapchat, so parents and teens could better monitor privacy settings and parents can see who their kids are interacting with.
We agree. Regulation alone is not the answer. American children need to be protected by solid safety rules (regulations) AND social media leaders committed to moral responsibility who will do the right thing.