Victoria Hincks saw her daughter drawn into the dark side of social media and couldn’t get her out.
“We tried to take her phone away at night, but it was like taking drugs from an addict,” Hinks said Monday at the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco’s Don Fisher Clubhouse. He spoke at a press conference held at.
Hinks, who lost her 16-year-old daughter to suicide in August, joined California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Rep. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) have called on social media companies to tell users in California that their platforms can pose risks to the mental health and well-being of young people. He announced a bill that would require warnings.
Suicide prevention and crisis counseling resources
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek professional help by calling 9-8-8. The nation’s first national three-digit mental health crisis hotline, 988, connects callers with trained mental health counselors. You can reach the Crisis Text Line in the U.S. and Canada by texting HOME to 741741.
The effort to add warning labels is the latest in a series of moves by state legislatures to strengthen online protections for children. Bonta and Bauer-Kahan, who introduced the new bill, Assembly Bill 56, expect to face pushback from technology industry groups who have filed lawsuits to block the new child safety law.
While advocates acknowledge that warning labels are not a panacea, lawmakers and child advocates say they can help parents decide whether to allow their children to use these popular services. claims. Bonta, Bauer-Kahan and Jim Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media, likened the proposed label to putting a warning on a cigarette pack.
“It will raise public awareness and change the course of this public health crisis,” Bauer-Kahan said.
The move comes after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also called for warning labels on social media earlier this year. In an op-ed published in the New York Times, Murthy said labeling these online services would remind parents and young people of the potential dangers of social media.
Last year, the Surgeon General said that while social media has benefits such as connecting young people with family and friends, the platforms also pose potential risks including depression, anxiety, social comparison and body image issues. The report was published.
Social media companies have been adding features that give parents more control over their children’s social media use. Metaplatforms’ Instagram, a social media app popular among young people, introduced teen accounts this year, allowing parents to limit the content their teens see and who they contact online.
NetChoice, an industry group backed by Google, TikTok, Snap and big tech companies, did not respond to requests for comment. Mehta did not immediately issue a statement about the proposal.
California’s attorney general also sued TikTok and Meta for allegedly harming young people.
Several efforts to protect children online come as technology industry groups file suit to block the new law, saying it violates First Amendment free speech protections. facing legal obstacles.
This year, a federal appeals court partially upheld a lower court’s decision to block California’s 2022 Online Child Safety Act. The law, known as the California Age-Appropriate Design Act, requires online platforms to evaluate whether their product designs are safe. Services and features may be harmful to children before they are made available to the public.
Bonta said there is no First Amendment right to harm children and his office will fight the case in court.
“We cannot let the fact that we pass important legislation that protects our children that it may be litigated in the future slow us down,” Bonta said.
Hincks echoed Bonta’s comments, noting that adding warning labels is a step in the right direction. Ms Hincks said that despite using parental controls to limit the time her daughter spent on social media apps, she was still provided content about eating disorders and self-harm. According to her mother, she became convinced that she was not beautiful enough and used beauty filters provided by various apps to change her appearance.
“There is no doubt in my mind that social media played a role in leading her to that final and irreversible decision,” Hinks said.
Source link
