American elected officials want to legislate to increase the protection of children on these social networks, where they are sometimes exposed to violent and inappropriate content.
Representatives of TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube were heard on October 26 by a US Senate commission to discuss their influence on children, who are heavy users of these platforms.
This hearing comes a few weeks after that, before the same Committee on Commerce, of the whistleblower Frances Haugen, who revealed, with supporting documents, that internal research at Facebook had shown that the use of her social network Instagram was having detrimental effects on some of the teens who used it.
Inappropriate content
“TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube all play a major role in exposing children to dangerous content,” said Senator Marsha Blackburn, who co-chairs the committee.
“Social media can provide entertainment and educational opportunities,” the panel wrote in a presentation to the hearing, “but these apps have also been misused to prey on children and promote destructive acts, such as home vandalism. school, viral challenges that risk death, harassment, eating disorders, (…) and the embezzlement of minors. “
Many elected officials want to legislate to include in the texts more protective measures for minors.
Measures specific to young people
Snapchat has set the minimum age for registering on the network at 13, while TikTok and YouTube offer versions suitable for younger people, with specific filters and protections.
In his opening statement, TikTok public affairs manager Michael Beckerman listed a series of devices designed to protect children and adolescents. The version for young users (TikTok for Young Users) under 13 therefore does not allow posting of videos or commenting on videos posted by others.
For 13-16 year olds, the social network prohibits live broadcasts (livestream) and associates, by default, with these young users a private account, which means that it can only be consulted by persons authorized by the holder. Account.
“It is always possible to go further in terms of the protection of children and adolescents,” admitted Michael Beckerman, ensuring that the group continued its efforts in this direction.
TikTok said at the end of September, it now has more than a billion active users (at least one connection per month).
At the start of the hearing, Senator Blackburn highlighted the fact that the social network was a subsidiary of the Chinese group ByteDance. For the elected, TikTok gives the Chinese authorities “access to our children”.
