EU Investigates Meta for Addictive Effects on Children

Updated May 22, 2024

• The European Union opened up an investigation into Meta, the U.S.-based social media giant, for the addictive effect Facebook and Instagram have on children. 
• The investigation could have far-reaching implications for how the company's products are designed.
• In a statement, the European Commission said Meta's products may be exploiting the weaknesses and inexperience of minors to create a dependency on their platforms, which threatens their mental well-being.
• The EU said it has been in touch with U.S. counterparts about the investigation, as three dozen states have sued Meta for using "psychologically manipulative product features" to entice children, which is a violation of consumer protection laws. 

What’s the story?

• Efforts to enforce tighter regulations on social media platforms are being supported by both Republicans and Democrats as the Supreme Court hears cases on various constraints.
• The Supreme Court heard two cases that center on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects social media companies from lawsuits over user-generated content. Gonzalez v. Google alleged that Google contributed to the 2015 Paris attacks by suggesting ISIS videos on YouTube, while Twitter v. Taamneh assessed Twitter's legal obligation for failing to take down terrorist content. 
• The court expressed doubts about restricting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, with Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh worried such a decision could crash the digital economy. The justices are expected to announce decisions on the cases by June.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee has also welcomed testimonies from parents and experts regarding the harmful impact of social media on children. 

Social media regulation in the U.S.

• Several bills introduced in Congress address the negative impact of social media on children and the American population, such as addiction, cyberbullying, eating disorders, sexual abuse, and suicide.
• These bills include:

Clean Slate for Kids Online Act: A bill that would let Americans demand the deletion of any data companies collected about them before they turned 13.

EARN IT Act: A bill that would amend Section 230, which gives online platforms legal immunity for most of their users’ behavior.

The Kids Online Safety Act: A bill that would allow children and their parents to opt out of content algorithms and disable product features.

• Before a new law can be passed, Congress must agree on the details that lobbyists can influence. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) talked to NBC News about Big Tech lobbyists:

“[They are] so powerful that you can literally have a bill that got through the judiciary committee with strong bipartisan support, you can get promises from leaders that it's going to be a major bill, and within 24 hours, it's gone, it's vanished.”

Big Tech lobbying

• Nearly all members of Congress (94%) overseeing privacy and antitrust matters have received money from a Big Tech corporate Political Action Committee (PAC) or lobbyist.
• Facebook is one of the biggest corporate lobbying spenders in the country. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote in a joint statement to OpenSecrets:

“Big Tech has once again exerted its insidious influence through powerful armies of lobbyists and deceptive promotion campaigns, setting back essential efforts to protect kids and consumers.”

Social media regulation around the world

Australia

• Australia’s Online Safety Act 2021 strengthened the nation's online safety laws and granted substantial powers to eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant to request that social media platforms remove “harmful” content. 

European Union

• Germany's NetzDG law, which came into effect in 2018, forces companies with over two million users to establish a process that reviews content complaints and removes any unlawful content within 24 hours.
• In the European Union, social media platforms are fined if they do not delete extremist content within one hour. Starting in 2024, the Digital Services Act will be enforced in Europe, which bans advertising that targets children and mandates that large online platforms make the workings of their recommended algorithms transparent to users.

India

• The new Information Technology Act amendment allows the Indian government to challenge social media companies' content moderation decisions. 

South Korea

• In South Korea, any material considered "harmful" by the state is censored. Additionally, South Korea’s cyber defamation law empowers the police to take action against citizens for online comments deemed "hateful” without receiving a victim report.

United Kingdom

• The UK’s Online Safety Bill, which has passed its final report stage, proposes to improve internet safety and prevent children from accessing certain content. The bill requires companies to proactively seek out and remove illegal content rather than acting on user reports. 

What do you think? Should the U.S. government do more to regulate social media?

-Laura Woods

(Photo credit: Flickr)