The Surgeon General’s advisory accurately articulates that social media platforms are not safe for unregulated use by children and teens.
Data from our Safe 2 Say tipline, along with seeing first-hand the tragedies law enforcement encounter, provide plenty of evidence that social media is a root cause of many incidents of violence and self-harm involving young people.
Far too often, social media platforms become channels to promote hate and, in the worst cases, havens for child predators.
I support increased regulation of social media platforms to better safeguard children’s personal information and prevent contact with unknown adults, as well as efforts aimed at bolstering age verification for users.
My office will continue working to hold accountable companies that are trading our kids’ mental health for huge profits. We have been very active in addressing data breach and privacy concerns with internet companies and will act with the same diligence against social media companies that ignore the impacts their products have on mental wellness.
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