Editorial: Social media companies refuse to safeguard kids. It's up to lawmakers now

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the efforts of lawmakers at the state and federal level to regulate social media platforms and protect children from the potential harms of social media, as the platforms have been unwilling to adopt reasonable safeguards themselves.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Editorial: Social media companies refuse to safeguard kids. It's up to lawmakers now

1. What are some of the legislative efforts by states to protect children from social media harms?

• Florida passed a law banning children under 14 from having a social media account
• Iowa legislators backed a bill requiring parental permission for children under 18 to set up and use a social media account
• Colorado legislators passed a bill requiring platforms to display pop-up warnings on kids' accounts after an hour of use
• A dozen other states, including California, are considering or have passed laws to force companies to design their platforms to be safer for kids, such as stricter privacy settings, limiting data collection and targeted ads, and removing features that encourage kids to stay online longer

2. What is the status of California's law to require social media platforms to protect children?

• California's first-in-the-nation law to require that social media platforms be designed to protect children was blocked in the fall by a federal judge who said the law likely violates the 1st Amendment rights of the tech companies
• With California's first attempt held up in court, lawmakers are trying again this year with a new bill, SB 976

3. What are the key provisions of California's new bill, SB 976?

• Requires social media platforms to turn off their algorithms for users under 18 and instead serve them content through a chronological feed
• Bars platforms from sending notifications to children between 12 and 6 a.m.
• Requires platforms to give parents the ability to change the settings on their kids' accounts, such as turning off notifications and setting time limits

4. What are the tech industry's arguments against SB 976?

• They argue a chronological feed is no safer for children than an algorithmic feed, as bad actors could flood a chronological feed with harmful content
• They say the bill will run up against 1st Amendment challenges by limiting minors' and adults' access to information

[02] Editorial: Social media can harm kids. Lawsuits could force Meta, others to make platforms safer

1. What are the key points made in this section?

• States have sued Facebook's parent company, Meta, alleging the company knew Instagram and other products could harm young users' mental health but didn't do enough to help
• The article suggests that lawsuits could force Meta and other social media companies to make their platforms safer for children