SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Two California lawmakers are proposing a bill that would allow social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to be sued for manipulating children into using its product.
This bill says social media platforms should have a duty to not get children hooked on social media. Lawmakers want companies to stop using children’s personal data, and techniques designed to get them addicted.
Assembly Bill 2408 or the Social Media Platform Duty to Children Act, aims to make social media platforms liable for penalties and damages for harming children, especially adolescent girls.
“We have research showing us that there are positive correlations between the time kids and teens spend on social media and increased rates of depression and suicide,” said Jessica Heldman, a University of San Diego School of Law Professor.
The University of San Diego’s Children’s Advocacy Institute is co-sponsoring the bill with Assembly members Jordan Cunning and Buffy Wicks. The Institute says the bipartisan effort addresses the negative impact social media is having on children.
“We’re not talking about addiction in the loose sense of ‘they just like it a lot’. We’re talking about a diagnosable condition, just like gambling, of social media addiction,” said Ed Howard, Children’s Advocacy Institute, Senior Policy Advocate.
Frances Haugen, also known as the Facebook Whistleblower, testified before the senate commerce committee last October and said the company knows children are being harmed on its platform Instagram. Its own research found that among teen users who reported suicidal thoughts, 13% of British users and 6% of American users traced the desire to kill themselves to Instagram.
“They know how their products are addictive. It’s their own research that’s telling them that and it’s the experts that they employ to increase user engagement to the point of addiction,” Heldman said.
The bill will allow parents or guardians to sue if the child suffers any injury because of a social media platform.
Companies could face a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per child.
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