Are social media giants able to protect children from being harmed online?

Exploring the realm of online safety for children, lawmakers have convened a Senate hearing to scrutinize how major tech platforms handle hazardous content and what additional measures are required.

Summoning five prominent tech CEOs, including Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Shou Zi Chew of TikTok, the legislators delve into concerns about safeguarding children from online sexual exploitation.

While Zuckerberg and Chew willingly testified, CEOs of Snap, X (formerly Twitter), and Discord only appeared after being subpoenaed, prompting lawmakers to criticize these significant tech companies for what they see as insufficient efforts in protecting young users online.

The facts

Three months ago, a former Meta top staff member told Congress that he thought Instagram was not doing enough to shield young people from sexual harassment.

At the time, Meta claimed to have included “over 30 tools” to help ensure that teenagers could use the internet safely.
During a Wednesday session, US senators grilled tech executives about social media safeguards for youngsters. Families, whose children experienced harm from online content, expressed emotions throughout the hearing.

Zuckerberg defended Instagram prompt about child sexual abuse material, citing its potential helpfulness. He also apologized to affected families and pledged to investigate the issue. The session also touched on online safety legislation, with some CEOs expressing disagreement with proposed bills.

The arguments

A major concern is that over time, social media has developed into a haven for abusers looking to target minors in particular.

This is commonly done through grooming, live streaming, coercing and blackmailing children for sexual acts and adult content popping up on young people’s timelines. These interactions frequently result in abuse and have devastating consequences.

Families and victims believe that social media corporations purposefully place kids in danger with their harmful and addictive products.

In its guidance for tech platforms on complying with the Online Safety Act, United Kingdom’s communications regulator, Ofcom, warned that social media platforms must fight online grooming by refraining from suggesting children as “friends” by default.

Social media has its benefits; it connects people, brings the world closer through learning about different cultures and diverse groups. A study by Pew Research Center in 2018 found that teenagers used social media to meet people from different backgrounds, get diverse views and demonstrate their support for causes.

Majority of the teenagers who participated in the study and had been a part of online communities reported that these platforms enabled them to meet new people, feel more accepted, process emotions surrounding significant topics, and get through difficult periods in their lives.

For them, social media groups offer “a sense of belonging and community, access to support from like-minded individuals, an appreciation of different perspectives, reduced isolation, and a monitored discussion environment.”

But social media is addictive, and more time spent on social media results in a high possibility of children and teenagers being exposed to cyberbullying, social anxiety, depression, and exposure to content that is not age-appropriate.

To show how vulnerable young people are to sexual exploitation on social media, Ofcom revealed figures implying that a majority of 11–18-year-olds had received pictures of themselves nude or near nude, highlighting the vulnerability of young people to sexual exploitation and abuse on social media.

The question of what happens next has also remained unclear with several concerns about the absence of clearly cut-out regulations in the United States of America and most other countries to prevent further repercussions.

There is a need for countries to put together regulatory frameworks to safeguard young people from being exposed to dangers that could mar their lives in the long term.