{"id":598050,"date":"2023-11-18T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/congress-needs-to-protect-kids-not-big-tech\/"},"modified":"2023-11-18T03:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-18T00:00:00","slug":"congress-needs-to-protect-kids-not-big-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/congress-needs-to-protect-kids-not-big-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"#Congress needs to protect kids, not Big Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/07\/twitter_facebook_snapchat_tiktok_social_media_04262023_AP_.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>            <iframe title=\"Audio Article\" id=\"instaread_iframe\" name=\"instaread_playlist\" scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" style=\"display:block\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social media<\/a> is a threat to our children. A bipartisan\u00a0Congress is now stepping up to make Big Tech products safe for our children; but the social media companies are putting their incredible lobbying power behind efforts to break the momentum.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Surgeon <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> Vivek Murthy\u2019s May 2023\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/sg-youth-mental-health-social-media-advisory.pdf\">advisory warning<\/a>\u00a0found \u201cample\u201d evidence that social media use presents \u201ca\u00a0profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.\u201d And\u00a0a recent paper by the Institute for\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ifstudies.org\/ifs-admin\/resources\/briefs\/ifs-gallup-parentingsocialmediascreentime-october2023-1.pdf\">Family Studies and Gallup<\/a>\u00a0shows that access to social media has led to higher suicide rates for teenagers. \u201cTeens who spend more than 5 hours a day on social media,\u201d the report found, \u201cwere 2.5 times more likely to express suicidal thoughts or harm themselves, 2.4 times more likely to hold a negative view of their body, and 40% more likely to report a lot of sadness the day before.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Social media not only impacts teens\u2019 mental health but their physical health, as well. A\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6510111\/\">recent study<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Journal of\u00a0Family Medicine and Primary Care\u00a0found kids experience\u00a0\u201canxiety, respiratory alterations, trembling, perspiration, agitation, disorientation and tachycardia\u201d when they are not near their phones, their portals to social media and the internet.<\/p>\n<p>Do these symptoms sound familiar? They should, because they are the same\u00a0symptoms of an addict withdrawing from nicotine or hard drugs. But unlike other addictive substances, social media platforms are completely unregulated by the government.<\/p>\n<p>Moms and dads have thus been left on their own to try to fend off this tech-induced health crisis, contending against the allure of products engineered by the most powerful corporations in history to be maximally addictive to their kids.<\/p>\n<p>Big Tech is not only indifferent to the harms children are suffering from its products, but, as made evident in recent lawsuits, there is\u00a0 strong evidence that they intentionally perpetuate the problem. In October, a bipartisan group of 42 state attorneys general\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/24080215-meta-lawsuit\">sued Meta<\/a>, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for targeting young users with features designed to secure \u201ccompulsive and extended use\u201d in order to \u201cmaximize profit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Heck, even\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.youtube\/inside-youtube\/youtubes-principled-approach-children-teenagers\/\">YouTube\u2019s CEO<\/a>\u00a0says that they can\u2019t (or more likely won\u2019t) protect kids without legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers are finally stepping up. In response to Big Tech\u2019s unwillingness to change and inability to regulate themselves, enter Congress\u2019s bipartisan framework called the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). If passed, KOSA would require social media companies to provide parents and adolescents with tools to help safeguard the experience of kids on social media. What\u2019s more, KOSA would impose a \u201cduty of care\u201d on platforms to ensure that they are not using design features made for adults on child users, such as algorithms pushing sexual exploitation material or violent videos to children. KOSA\u2019s duty of care provides attorneys general with a clear path forward to address these harms and keep Big Tech accountable when they hurt children.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>A\u00a0wide range of experts, organizations, and researchers focused on protecting kids online on both sides of the political spectrum, including the\u00a0American Psychological Association, have\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blumenthal.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/kids_online_safety_act_-_one_pager.pdf\">endorsed<\/a>\u00a0KOSA\u2019s framework. KOSA\u2019s\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/big-tech-exploiting-kids-online-congress-has-step-opinion-1840276\">targeted<\/a>\u00a0bipartisan <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach will ensure that parents have the ability to protect their kids online from content that hurts their development and mental health. This is something everyone should be able to get behind.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone, that is, except Big Tech. Big Tech and their advocates are asserting outlandish claims to kill the bill. Probably the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-constitution-protects-harmful-speech-kosa-first-amendment-students-children-bill-4a9304ac\">most bizarre<\/a>\u00a0argument from Big Tech allies\u00a0is that KOSA\u2019s duty of care would allow the government to censor content.<\/p>\n<p>In reality, KOSA\u2019s duty of care is solely about product design, not content. The act requires a social media platform to take \u201creasonable measures\u201d to mitigate specific harms to children in the\u00a0<em>design<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>operation<\/em>\u00a0of any products or features used by minors. It\u00a0targets specific conduct leveraged by Big Tech known to harm children, like using their algorithms and designs to encourage eating disorders, sexual exploitation and the use of narcotic drugs. Finally, Section 3(b) of the bill also explicitly contains a limiting provision. It states: \u201cNothing [in this law] shall be construed to require a covered platform to prevent or preclude\u2026 any minor from deliberately and independently searching for, or specifically requesting, content\u2026.\u201d The bill\u2019s language is clear: a platform\u2019s obligations under the Duty of Care cannot be construed to be about the existence or removal of pieces of content.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The bill would grant children and parents more control over children\u2019s experiences on the platforms and what they see; and prevents tech companies from taking those choices away from minor users with the design of their automatic features or algorithms.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Frankly, given its strong bipartisan support, there should be little standing in the way of KOSA passing. But Big Tech is doing everything they can to derail it. When the safety of children is hanging in the balance, the stakes could not be higher \u2014 and Congress needs to stop dragging its feet. Passing a strong bipartisan law to protect kids from the harms of Big Tech is a win for everyone, most especially for American parents and children against Big Tech.<\/p>\n<p><em>Clare Morell is Senior Policy Analyst at\u00a0the\u00a0Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she directs\u00a0their <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a> and Human Flourishing Project.<\/em> <em>Joel Thayer is the president of the Digital Progress Institute.<\/em> <em>Michael Toscano is executive director of the Institute for Family Studies.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/congress-blog\/4315974-congress-needs-to-protect-kids-not-big-tech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social media is a threat to our children. A bipartisan\u00a0Congress is now stepping up to make Big Tech products safe for our children; but the social media companies are putting their incredible lobbying power behind efforts to break the momentum. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy\u2019s May 2023\u00a0advisory warning\u00a0found \u201cample\u201d evidence that social media use presents&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":598051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/07\/twitter_facebook_snapchat_tiktok_social_media_04262023_AP_.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,104331,134417,134418,134661,141609,73014,90482,147060,147061,4965,146913],"class_list":["post-598050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-big-tech","tag-blog-briefing-room","tag-congress-blog","tag-energy-environment","tag-evening-report","tag-health-care","tag-house","tag-kids-online-safety-act","tag-socia-media","tag-technology","tag-vivek-murthy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}