States Are Taking Baby Steps Toward Protecting Kids Online
So-called "parents' rights" bills distract attention from the real goal: holding platforms accountable for the harm they do to children.
Seat belts protect children in cars. Safety standards protect children from faulty or dangerous toys. All these are the result of regulatory mandates. And yet for far too long, social media companies have been allowed to develop addictive design features such as endless scroll, autoplay and push alerts that keep kids and teens hooked on their products. The longer vulnerable kids and teens are online, the more likely they are to be targeted with recommendations pushing them into behaviors that could put their lives at risk, such as disordered eating or dangerous viral challenges.
The burden to date has fallen on parents to protect their kids from bad products. Finally, however, lawmakers across the country—in red states, in blue states and in Congress—have begun speaking out and taking action to hold big tech accountable for the harm their products cause kids and teens.
