The UK’s Online Safety Act continues to progress through the implementation process. A deadline of 24th July has been set for the affected companies to comply. Complete their child safety assessments. I’ve been thinking about a quote by the US natural scientist E.O. Wilson: “The real problem of humanity is we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and god-like technologies.”
By saying that Ofcom is medieval I am not implying that it is incapable of holding the technology giants accountable.
The social media giants have avoided legal challenges or censure by citing their own policies. Section 230 in the US Communications Decency Act prevents companies from being held responsible for content posted on platforms.
There may be some sunshine on the horizon, albeit in tragic circumstances, with a groundbreaking US legal challenge.
Do not look away
A compelling documentary by Bloomberg Originals focuses on the progress of the case. Can’t look away: the case against social media
Bloomberg accompanied the work of The Social Media Victims Law Centre (SMVLC), led by lawyer Matthew Bergman, and his colleagues, tried to move the case into the discovery phase in the weeks leading up to their first court appearance.
On the other side of the courthouse, the gathered families of those who lost their children through suicide, self-harming, drugs, and sexual exploitation due to their use of social networking sites. Jessica Grant, the legal rep for Snap Inc., the owner of Snapchat, was on the other side.
The families of the deceased held up photos of their children, while Grant addressed the judge and made some chilling remarks. “Sections 230 immunises Internet service providers like Snap from claims whether product liability or negligence or any other nuisance to the public”.
Her statement was particularly hostile, clothed and egregious. The SMVLC had described this case as “the voices of children coming back from grave holding these companies accountable.” This case is historic and groundbreaking because it is the first time that a case has been brought not on the basis of platform versus contents and Section 230 but on the basis of product design. That is, these companies do not only publish user-generated content, but actively design algorithms to push harmful material at pre-teens or adolescents in order to deliver greater engagement and grow.
The child victims do not search for this content. It is pushed directly into their feeds and stream with disastrous results. Their parents are unaware of what they are consuming.
Add followers and get Adderall (19659013) One of the cases that the SMVLC is representing is that of Michael Brewer was 11 years old when he first joined Snapchat. Snapchat has a feature known as Quick Add that encourages young people to add the most followers possible. They have no idea who these new followers are.
Michael, at age 13, was contacted shortly after using Quick Add by a person who asked him, “What are you looking for?” When Michael replied, “What is it?” he received a photo of a comprehensive drugs menu within an hour.
He testified that he received these drug menus for six out of ten of his stories every hour. He went to the drug dealer in search of Adderall but was told that he could get Percocet instead. SnapMap, which allows followers to track your location in real-time, allowed the dealers to deliver the pill directly to his house.
But it wasn’t Percocet. It was a fake pill with fentanyl. The consequences were tragic. He was in a life threatening situation within an hour after taking the pill. He eventually died, but was resuscitated. Michael is wheelchair-bound and has suffered a serious brain injury. Michael is the only person still alive in all of SMVLC’s fentanyl social media cases.
The Bloomberg documentary also tracks the testimony of the CEOs of social media giants at a landmark Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on 31 January 2024.
Meta TikTok, and Snap all provided evidence on the impact social media has on young people. It was shocking to hear Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tell the grieving families that “There is no evidence that social media use has any impact on mental illness”.
Given the evidence to the contrary within his company, this was quite a feat. We know this because of documents revealed by the Whistleblower Frances Haugen (19459020) confirmed that Facebook prioritized engagement and profit above safety, and hid this fact from legislators and public.
Mental health explosion
If Zuckerberg wanted to know more about the damage his products, and those of other social media giants, are causing on young people, then he should read the excellent book by social psychologist Jonathan HaidtThe anxious generation: How a great rewiring in childhood is causing a mental illness epidemic who has done extensive research in this field.
In his book, Haidt traces the rise in mental health issues among young people to the advent of smartphones and social media in general. Especially Instagram in 2012. His book isn’t just about individual harms, but about the complete cognitive rewiring in young people’s brains. This is especially true as they join before the age 13 when their prefrontal cortex (PFC), which has not fully developed, has not yet been fully developed.
PFC is responsible for a wide range of areas that are essential to normal brain development, including decision-making and reasoning, executive functions and personality, working memory, attention, speech, language, emotional processing, and motor control.
In order to put it all in context, the PFC is responsible for complex cognitive processes such as decision-making and impulse control, emotional regulation social behaviour, working memory, and many others.
This is a warning to parents who are unaware of the content their children see on their phones. They are allowing their children’s cognitive abilities to be rewired at their most vulnerable development stages. Haidt said: “Children who were born in the late 90s were the first in history to experience puberty within the virtual world.” It’s like sending Gen Z to Mars to grow up when we gave them phones in the early 2010, in the largest uncontrolled human experiment ever performed on their own children.
The Kids Online Safety Act has stalled in the US. Republicans are blocking the bill from moving forward, despite it passing the Senate in 2024 with overwhelming bipartisan support. They are worried that social media companies will censor conservative views.
It seems that in the end, it will be good old people power that will bring about a change. SMVLC represents 4000 US families, and more are joining the fight each day. The SMVLC’s resources are limited in comparison to the vast and unlimited resources of the tech giants, but the justice system, not the regulatory frameworks, is what levels the playing field for these ordinary families so they can be heard before a court of laws.
In January, the SMVLC was granted permission to proceed to the discovery phase. The ruling confirmed that social media companies such as Meta, YouTube and Snap could not use Sections 230 and 230A of the Communications Decency act to shield themselves from responsibility. This allowed discovery and the lawsuits move forward. If all goes well, this will lead to bellwether trial later this year. Haidt, in Anxious Generation,comments that many parents Haidt talks to are resigned about their teenagers’ use of social networks, as all their friends use social media. To restrict their child’s usage would make them feel socially isolated. His response is a wise one, and not one that is based on an individual’s opinion. We must work together to change the norms, and to re-establish real-life conditions that are necessary for healthy cognitive development in young people. This is essential for them to become happy and thriving adult.
I urge anyone who is a parent, aunt, uncle, friend, or employer to watch You can’t look away for only $12, which goes to the filmmakers. The documentary provides vital information that is worth the $12. Buy the anxious generation for as many parents you know and give them as many copies as you can. Or, refer them to thisofficial website which contains many free resources and insights.
Our children will not be saved by the cavalry from these serious and even life-threatening dangers on social media. It’s time to start looking out for one another, as we are the custodians for the next generation. Together, we can resist and fight against the evils of social media with the strong arm of law.
