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.'