Senator Britt Raises Alarm Over Kids’ Safety Online
The battle between massive profits and the protection of children has been a controversy in the U.S. Congress since the invention of the internet. Some members of congress such as Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt, a mother of two, have been concerned for some time about social media companies putting profits above the welfare of vulnerable children.
Kids are being tracked across the internet and every place they go with a phone or mobile device, The social media sites they visit often puts them at risk from predators, Chatbots are encourage some children to commit suicide. They are targeted by online companies who see them as easy money.
“We know we need sweeping and overarching reform, because Big Tech is always going to care about one thing, and that's their profits. And we know they know what they're doing,” Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said during today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on what laws Congress can pass to help authorities prosecute people targeting children.
Today's hearing is just one in several where social media magnates have been summoned to Washington to testify in confrontational hearings about their lack of safeguards. Parents have testified in those hearings about how their children were victims of online crimes or faced mental health crises from social media usage. Some have even committed suicide due to social media encouragement.
Online groups like “764,” a loosely connected network of online predators, have increasingly been targeting America’s kids to drive them into acts of violence, suicide and sexual abuse.
Despite all the talk, concern, and anger nothing has come of the congressional outrage and children continue to be victimized. All the while companies like Tik Toc, You Tude, X (formerly twitter), Meta and others continue to see their profits increase by the billions annually. All the while professing to be concerned about the dangerous and negative side of their services.
“In the (FBI) we are cracking down on online abuse against children like never before - almost 500% increase in Nihilistic Violent Extremism arrests and over 20% increase in FBI arrests directly related to 764 networks, thanks to local partners working with us,” FBI director Kash Patel said in a post on X. “This is one of the most important issues in America - we’re proud to partner with leaders on Capitol Hill to help uproot every last criminal actor who enables this.”
But prosecutions alone cannot solve the problem. So far, the talk has been easy but finding a solution has eluded lawmakers.
The Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act is proposed legislation first introduced in Congress in 2022. It would establish guidelines to protect minors from harmful material on social media platforms through a duty of care system and requiring covered platforms to disable "addicting" design features to minors.
The act has bipartisan support and opposition in both houses. But while proponents say the legislation will protect children, foes claim it will illegally violate the First Amendment.
“It is past time Congress enact legislation to protect our families and equip parents with substantive tools to help their kids" emphasized Sen. Britt.
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