Gesiotto: States Can Show The Way To Hold Big Tech Accountable For Kids' Safety

By Madison Gesiotto, NH Journal

States have always been the laboratories of democracy, stepping in to solve problems when Washington is too slow or too divided to act.

Today, one of the most urgent challenges facing families is the online spaces where social media companies profit from pushing explicit content and addictive designs meant to steal children’s time and attention. Families see the risks clearly, and they can’t fight them alone.

That’s why parents are asking policymakers to do more to protect children online. Overwhelmingly, they’re asking legislators to hold the platforms responsible for designing addictive algorithms and pushing harmful content to their kids, but leaders in Congress have struggled to reach a consensus on kids’ online safety. State lawmakers, however, have begun to chart a model that works.

More than a dozen states have passed laws requiring age verification to block children and teens from accessing pornographic content. Even after the pornography industry challenged these protections, the Supreme Court affirmed that states have the right to shield children from harmful online material.

Of course, pornography companies aren’t the only platforms pumping dangerous content to kids, and the Supreme Court’s decision to give states the authority to hold bad actors accountable for pushing harmful content to kids has given states a blueprint for action. Mississippi, for example, has applied this same principle to social media platforms, with lawmakers in the state passing legislation requiring social media companies to verify users’ ages. This puts the responsibility for children’s safety online on the corporations exploiting and profiting from our kids.

This approach works, and Big Tech knows it. That’s why Facebook and its allies have poured millions into fighting Mississippi’s safeguards in court. Thankfully, these legal challenges have failed so far, but that hasn’t stopped Facebook and other social media platforms from fighting to avoid responsibility at all costs. Instead of verifying ages themselves, they’ve spent millions on advertising and lobbying to persuade lawmakers to bail them out and shift that burden to app stores.

However, putting an age gate around app stores, rather than regulating the bad actors actively designing addictive and harmful content, would do little to keep kids safe online. Children could bypass app store security settings and access these platforms via a web browser on their phone or laptop, gaming consoles, or smart TVs. This wouldn’t protect kids. It means they will access the content through less legitimate means without sufficient parental supervision.

It could not be clearer that Facebook prioritizes profit over protecting kids. In the past few months, whistleblowers have revealed how Facebook ignored reports of children being propositioned by strangers in its virtual reality platform, and now, AI chatbots supposedly designed for kids were trained on graphic sexual material, according to a recent lawsuit. Leaked internal documents revealed that Facebook even approved its chatbots to have “sensual” conversations with children. No parent should have to wage this fight alone, and no billion-dollar company should be allowed to shrug off accountability while exploiting children’s time and attention.

That is why lawmakers should reject Facebook’s “solution” and instead follow Mississippi’s lead. The state’s model makes clear that the only effective way to protect children is to place accountability on the platforms themselves, not solely on parents or others. Anything less gives Big Tech another way to duck responsibility while kids remain exposed to harmful and addictive content.

While Washington has dragged its feet on children’s online safety, the states have found a solution that works. State leadership shows that when lawmakers place the burden on corporations, real protections are possible. The choice before us is clear. We can let Big Tech continue to write the rules and profit from exploiting children, or we can stand with parents and demand accountability.

Madison Gesiotto is an attorney and former spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.