Ensure social media privacy for minors

Social media usage can be harmful for children depending on the time spent on platforms and the type of content children consume or are exposed. A cohort study of adolescents aged 12-15 found adolescents who spent 3 or more hours on social media daily were twice as likely to experience poor mental health outcomes such as anxiety or depression.[1] Social media can also perpetuate negative self-image issues and disordered eating, particularly among teen girls[2], while the majority of teens using social media are often exposed to hate content through social media.[3]

In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released an Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, noting the vulnerability of young people to social media harms and calling for action on the need to better research and understand the full impact of social media use on young people, the importance of maximizing benefits and minimizing harm of social media, and the need to create healthy, online environments for children.[4] Congress should act to protect children and youth on social media platforms by passing federal legislation that has the following privacy components:

Age verification:

• Requirement that social media platforms institute stricter age verification controls
• Ban children under 13 from engaging with content/users
• Mandate secure digital identification credentials

Increased safeguards for minors:

• Set default settings at the privacy settings
• Social media platforms should provide minors with tools to limit communication with other users, prevent public access of personal data, limit features that encourage prolonged use of platform, control personalized recommendation systems, and restrict geolocation sharing for minors

Transparency measures:

• Social media platforms should regularly release reports on how data can harm minors

Content controls:

• Ban content that encourages eating disorders, is linked to purchasing of controlled substances or firearms, gives information about how to harm oneself or others, commit suicide, or other harms
• Ban advertising of illegal products, moving beyond the previous standard that social media platforms use a “shall not facilitate” standard
• Social media platforms should provide information to users that allows them to control the content they see

Reporting mechanisms:

• Platforms should make clear reporting mechanisms

Data collection:

• Prohibit collection of personal information of teens 13-16 without consent

Additionally, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information should create a program for researchers to access data from platforms for research on harms, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology should conduct a study on methods to verify age of platform users, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should establish a Youth Privacy and Marketing Division within FTC to address privacy of and marketing directed toward children and teens and provide guidance on market research/data.

Congress should address many of these issues by passing the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA)[5], the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)[6], and Protecting Kids on Social Media Act.[7]