Translating Local Insight to State Level Policy – The Role of the CAYC
A recent New York Times article, "How Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Failed Children on Safety," examines the challenges and lawsuits Meta faces concerning child safety on its platforms, specifically Instagram. Meta, under CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is involved in numerous lawsuits from states, school districts, and parents, accusing the company of neglecting child safety. The lawsuits claim that Meta's features intentionally engage children, worsening their mental health. Specifically, Meta is accused of creating an unsafe environment for children, with its algorithms and platform features contributing to exposure to harmful content and online predators. Internal documents and whistleblower testimonies suggest that Meta executives were aware of these dangers but prioritized business objectives over stringent safety measures. This contrasts sharply with public statements from Zuckerberg and others about their commitment to child safety. Public response to these issues has been substantial, with increased demands for regulatory oversight and stricter online safety laws for children. The lawsuits reflect growing frustration over Meta's perceived failure to adequately protect its youngest users. This scrutiny could lead to significant changes in regulations and industry standards concerning child safety on social media platforms.
What does any of this have to do with CAYC? Everything. Two years ago, as the Hillsborough Youth Commission (HYC) was starting to come together, one of the pressing issues we highlighted was a more rigorous examination of the impact of social media on adolescent health. While the issue was real, the venue was perhaps not, as the town's toolkit was limited. While we could collectively raise awareness, there was not much more we could do. We realized then that there was a need for a state-level consortium of youth commissions to take the insights garnered from local groups and translate them into policy initiatives that could have a substantial impact.
Indeed, we are now seeing innovation in policy emerge. In January 2024, Senator Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, introduced a landmark bill (SB 976: The Protecting Our Kids From Social Media Act) aimed at protecting youth from social media addiction. The bill seeks to address issues such as higher rates of depression, anxiety, lack of sleep, and low self-esteem linked to social media addiction among youth. The bill proposes specific measures to limit addictive features on social media platforms targeted at young users. This first-of-its-kind bill targets content that intentionally engages young users in a way that could be harmful to their mental health.
These are interesting steps toward a resolution, but they could also be described as "better late than never." At CAYC, we hope to play a constructive role in accelerating solutions like this, powered by the unique insights, perspectives, and passions of our member youth commissions.
Image credit: Opinion | Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms