A coalition of teen and adult activists against “digital abuse” targeting youth took to Washington, DC, on Tuesday with Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) standing with them to support the creation of legislation and a nationwide movement.
The Screen Safe Alliance roundtable in the U.S. Capitol building, organized by child online safety nonprofit Wired Human and students ranging from middle school to college, was held to advocate for youth protection from harmful artificial intelligence (AI)-driven social media algorithms.
Jason Frost, the CEO and cofounder of Wired Human, told Breitbart News that his organization “stands to end the sale of childhood online” as algorithms on apps like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook have essentially spoiled the innocence of children with the promotion of drugs, pornography, self-harm, and other unsafe influences.
“It is the AI-powered attention market that runs over 10 trillion different parameters to feed youth the perfect content that it knows will grab attention and sell their product,” Frost said. “So, the problem that we’re facing is […] the average time youth are spending behind a screen in the U.S. is about 10 hours a day. That’s a 70 hour a week job.”
“The second thing is that the platforms themselves are predatory,” the youth safety advocate said, pointing to the tragic case of Nylah Anderson, the ten-year-old Pennsylvania girl who died in December 2021 after taking part in a “blackout challenge” trend that was pushed by Chinese-owned TikTok’s algorithm.
According to Frost, “TikTok served that up to her through the algorithm, deemed that content would get her attention, and they could make a profit.”
A 2022 Harvard University study on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube revealed that the annual advertising revenue from users under 18 years old was nearly $11 billion, prompting researchers to conclude that the results “highlight the need for greater transparency from social media platforms as well as regulation of potentially harmful advertising practices that may exploit vulnerable child and adolescent social media users.”
Some members of the Wired Human youth coalition have shared troubling personal anecdotes while advocating for a nationwide Screen Safe Alliance in schools.
Pomai, 19, said she became bulimic as a young teen after her TikTok “For You Page” promoted “eating disorders” in her feed.
“The idea of body image was so out of reach. I was severely depressed, unhealthy mentally and physically,” she said.
K, 18, said she began posting on an adult streaming app at the age of 12, but “I made the app enough money by posting inappropriate content of myself, the company allowed my account to stay active.”
Josh, 26, said his teen brother ended up taking his own life “because of the negative impact of social media.”
Sens. Blackburn and Blumenthal spoke at the roundtable in support of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill they originally introduced in February 2022 that passed the Senate with flying colors before House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) declined to call a vote, citing “free speech” concerns.
Two parents who spoke to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday morning each had a child who “died of fentanyl poisoning because they thought they were buying a percocet online, on Snapchat,” Blackburn said at the roundtable.
“In the physical world, there are laws against exposing children to pornography, selling alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, having kids enter into contracts — All of that is prohibited,” the Tennessee Republican stated. “But we have never passed those laws to apply in the virtual space.”
Sen. Blumenthal, from the other side of the political aisle, also spoke out in support of Wired Human’s efforts to create a nationwide coalition.
“Victims of social media’s evils — the toxic content on bullying, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, drugs, fentanyl — those victims are not red or blue,” the Connecticut Democrat said, highlighting the need for bipartisanship on the issue.
“They’re not Republicans or Democrats. They don’t care about our conflicts here in Washington, D.C. Across the aisle, they want action, and parents want action,” he continued.
Blumenthal also stated that “We need to stop fentanyl from coming across the borders, no question, but we also need to stop it from coming across social media.”
He then reiterated his commitment to “press forward” with bipartisan action to hold “Big Tech” to a standard of care for youth users.
Despite KOSA failing to advance to the House the first time, Blackburn and Blumenthal are determined to reintroduce it and get it passed.
“We are working to re-introduce the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act,” Blackburn’s office told Breitbart News. “This critical life-saving legislation requires social media platforms to put the well-being of children first by providing an environment that is safe by default.”
According to Blumenthal, X’s Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, as well as first son Donald Trump Jr., are in support of their efforts.
