Amy Neville and Kristin Bride, two mothers who lost their teenage sons due to social media-related harms, are now advocating for stronger social media safeguards and legislation to protect children online. Neville’s son, Alexander, was 14 when he died after a drug dealer connected with him on Snapchat and sold him a pill that killed him. Bride’s son, Carson, died by suicide at 16 after severe cyberbullying.

Global Restrictions

Australia, the U.K., Turkey, Indonesia, and others have passed bans on kids under 16 or 15 from using platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. In the U.S., the movement turned a corner with two jury verdicts against Meta and one against Google that galvanized proponents for kids’ online safety.

Evidence in the court cases revealed some of the tech companies’ inner workings, including communications of employees who likened their products to drugs and casinos. Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act shields tech companies from legal responsibility for posted content, but lawsuits are side-stepping its protections by focusing on the companies’ deliberate design choices rather than content.

Legislative Efforts

In the U.S., federal legislation of social media has moved at a glacial pace. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which took effect in 2000, requires kid-oriented apps and websites to get parents’ consent before collecting personal information of children under 13. Lawmakers in the House unveiled a bipartisan deal called the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, which includes portions of the Kids Online Safety Act.

Senators say social media concerns are reaching a tipping point. The Senate Judiciary Committee has invited the CEOs of Meta, Alphabet, TikTok, and Snap to testify at an upcoming hearing about children’s safety on their platforms.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.