Lawmakers Seek Tougher Online Safety Standards for Children

Bipartisan bill would hold social-media platforms responsible for harm to children

By John D. McKinnon, WSJ, Feb. 16-17

WASHINGTON—Social-media companies would be held responsible for harm they cause to children under bipartisan legislation introduced Wednesday, in the latest move to strengthen regulation of internet platforms.

Dubbed the Kids Online Safety Act, the measure by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) would also require tech companies to provide periodic assessments of how their algorithms, design features and targeted advertising systems might contribute to harm to minors. Tech companies would have to give minors the ability to opt out of algorithmic recommendations.

If it becomes law, the legislation would mark a significant step in regulation of children’s online experiences.

The legislation was introduced as an independent panel with bipartisan support released a report Wednesday calling on the U.S. to develop a national strategy for technology policy, one that would include new privacy protections for children as well as broader restrictions on collection of personal data and strict enforcement of consumer-protection rules.

The new child-safety legislation is aimed at addressing growing questions about the impact of social media on users, especially children. The Wall Street Journal last year detailed internal research for Facebook Inc. —now known as Meta Platforms Inc.—showing that the company’s algorithms foster discord and that its Instagram app is harmful for a sizable percentage of its users, notably teenage girls. The documents provided the foundation of the Journal’s Facebook Files series, which Sens. Blumenthal and Blackburn cited Wednesday.

A Wall Street Journal investigation found that TikTok only needs one important piece of information to figure out what you want: the amount of time you linger over a piece of content. Every second you hesitate or rewatch, the app is tracking you. Photo illustration: Laura Kammermann/The Wall Street Journal

“In hearings over the last year, Senator Blumenthal and I have heard countless stories of physical and emotional damage affecting young users, and Big Tech’s unwillingness to change,” said Sen. Blackburn.

Big tech companies have put profits above safety, Sen. Blumenthal said. He said the legislation would hold tech companies accountable and would give children and parents tools to protect against harmful content.

Sen. Blumenthal said on a press call Wednesday: “Our purpose here is not to burn the internet to the ground, not to destroy tech platforms or the internet or these sites; it is simply to enlist the social media platforms in this joint effort to achieve what should be a common goal—protecting children.”

Big tech companies have said they take children’s safety seriously and already follow detailed federal rules to protect younger users. They also say they take steps to protect other users in areas such as privacy and harmful content. Tech company chief executives also assert that they operate in a competitive environment that forces them to serve customers and innovate.

The new legislation requires social-media platforms to provide minors with options to protect their information and disable potentially addictive product features. It requires platforms to enable the strongest protections by default, according to a summary.

The bill also gives parents new controls to help spot harmful behaviors, and requires a dedicated channel to report harms to children to the platform.

The bill also would require social-media platforms to protect minors from content promoting self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse and sexual exploitation. It requires social-media platforms to perform an annual independent audit assessing risks to minors.

In its report released Wednesday, the Future of Tech Commission says a national strategy is needed to address harms caused by the internet, and replace a hodgepodge of regulations that accompanied the rise of the digital economy.

“We’ve had a kind of Wild West mentality,” Margaret Spellings, a commission member and former U.S. education secretary under President George W. Bush, said in an interview. “That’s borne fruit, but it’s time to have more control.”

The report calls for establishing a public interest media fund to support local sources of news and information, which would be funded by tech companies through such means as direct contributions or a percentage of federal fines on tech companies.

Some of the commission’s recommendations include ideas already under consideration on Capitol Hill, such as comprehensive privacy legislation that would set limits on how tech companies can collect and use the information they gather on consumers.

The commission also calls for prohibiting collection of data from those who are age 16 and under, compared with the current rule for children 12 and under. The commission also recommends banning behavioral advertising for those under 16.

Other recommendations include more transparency for the algorithms that tech companies often use to target content to specific users, another approach that has gained support in Congress.

The commission also proposes creating a White House council to coordinate tech policy, replacing a system where policy-making responsibility is scattered across several agencies.

Sens. Blumenthal and Blackburn spoke during the commission’s rollout of its recommendations on Wednesday, along with other lawmakers who have pushed for stiffer tech regulation.

The Future of Tech Commission is a bipartisan, privately funded group led by Deval Patrick, the former Democratic governor of Massachusetts; Ms. Spellings; and James Steyer, founder of Common Sense Media, a group that promotes safe technology and media for children.

The commission released a poll last year that found American voters have deep-seated concerns about the power wielded by big technology companies and want the federal government to take a stronger stand in regulating them.

The poll also found that 84% of voters said they were “very nervous” about the effects of social media on children, including 84% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans, according to the poll.

“The American people are clearly looking for leadership in Washington to make protecting kids and families from online harms a top priority,” Mr. Steyer said. “Now is the time [for] the federal government to update tech policy to make kids a priority.”

Write to John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com

 

Appeared in the February 17, 2022, print edition as 'Bill Aims to Shield Children Online.'