This is how we give influencers less influence on our children | Opinion

On September 10, 42 state attorneys general backed a plan backed by the U.S. Surgeon General to add warning labels to social media platforms. While the plan is well-intentioned, it is unlikely to have a significant impact. “Generally speaking, warning labels by themselves are just not effective,” said Oriene Shin, policy counsel at Consumer Reports. Shin explained that warning labels “really need to be coupled with safe design. (They’re) the icing on the cake rather than the end all be all.”

Fast forward to September 16, when a U.S. appeals court heard arguments about the lawfulness of the federal government’s potential ban on TikTok. A third of TikTok’s 170 million users in the U.S. are 14 or younger. That means TikTok is collecting data on and influencing the minds of 50-60 million American children. That data (including biometrics) and the propaganda that feeds their newsfeeds appears to be influenced by the Chinese government. Regardless of the court’s decision (due by December 6), strong protections are needed for children and teens on all social media platforms right now.

Congress is in recess, but just before recess, something miraculous happened. On July 30, the Senate passed the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) by a 91-3 vote. If passed into law, they would be the most comprehensive legislation to protect children online in U.S. history. After recess, they now move to the House.

There have been numerous federal legislative efforts over the years to protect children and teens online, but they’ve all stalled in Congress. KOSA and COPPA 2.0 are further along than any previous effort. After the Senate vote, even President Biden signed them into law. What exactly do these bills accomplish? Do they deserve to pass?

KOSA, led by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) along with 62 co-sponsors, is a multifaceted bill with many key elements. First, it includes a mandate to protect the safety and privacy of children by “limiting the ability of other people to contact or locate them, particularly by adults who have no relationship with them.” Second, it allows young users to disable certain features that can promote addictive behavior, including auto-playing videos. Third, it empowers parents of minors by giving them control over privacy settings and time limits for their children. Fourth, importantly, it requires “platforms to conduct annual independent audits that identify risks of harm to minors.”

Furthermore, the centrepiece—and most controversial aspect—of KOSA establishes a “duty of care” for online platforms used by minors. This requires platforms to implement “reasonable” measures in their design to address harms such as online bullying, sexual exploitation, and the promotion of drugs and eating disorders.

COPPA 2.0 is simpler. It builds on its 1998 predecessor and extends privacy safeguards to under-17s, rather than just under-13s. It would also ban personalized advertising to minors.

The need for protective legislation is clear. Last year, the Surgeon General issued a public warning that social media had created “a national crisis in youth mental health.” In 2023, a Meta whistleblower revealed that 13 percent of teens aged 13 to 15 had experienced “unwanted sexual advances on Instagram” in the past seven days alone. Meta’s internal research also found that a third of teenage girls said Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies. In today’s polarized climate, the need to protect children and teens from the dangers of social media is one of the rare topics on which all sides can agree.

KOSA has certainly faced opposition from different constituencies. At the heart of the controversy lies how the legislation could impact free speech on controversial cultural issues. Both political wings fear that the child safety argument could be abused to suppress speech. Progressives worry about potential restrictions on LGBTQ information, while conservatives worry about pro-life advocacy.

Although the version of KOSA that passed was revised to better clarify some of the more ambiguous language, some groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have maintained their opposition. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), one of the three dissenting votes, said the bill would be used “to wage war over legal and vital information for teens.”

That both the right and the left have raised concerns about the types of information that could be blocked shows the balance of the bill. I am concerned that KOSA does not do enough to protect children from the significant harms of algorithmic recommendation systems. While KOSA addresses this problem by giving children the ability to “opt out,” it is unclear how many children will make that choice. A better solution is to ban these systems for minors altogether.

These concerns are all worth considering. But they are not enough to undermine the core components of the bills, which are desperately needed now. Legislation of this nature can also evolve through later amendments. This happened after the initial passage of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). In 2013, the Federal Trade Commission expanded the scope of COPPA to address technological advances such as smartphones. It also expanded “personal information” to include location data, images, videos, and voice recordings of children.

Once implemented, KOSA and COPPA 2.0 can also form the basis for future improvements, adapting over time to changing needs and technologies.

There is a complementary bipartisan bill that is ready to pass. Let’s seize this moment and also pass the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA), a bipartisan bill that has been supported by both houses (but has not yet been brought to a vote), which could become the nation’s first national privacy rights law. APRA is designed to protect people of all ages.

The momentum is there. Now the finish line is all that matters. It is encouraging that both political parties and most Americans agree on the need for strong legislation to protect our children. Warning labels on social media are a welcome addition, but not a substantive solution. KOSA and COPPA 2.0 are crucial steps now, with APRA in the pipeline.

Mark Weinstein is a world-renowned tech thought leader and privacy expert. He is the founder of the social network IWewhere he said goodbye in July 2022 to write a book about the intersection of social media, mental health, privacy, social debate and democracy. “Restoring our sanity online” will be released on September 24 (WILEY).

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own.