SouthernWorldwide.com – For years, America operated under the assumption that the internet should be a digital “Wild West,” with minimal regulations. This approach led to two critical misconceptions about Big Tech: that platforms should be allowed to publish almost anything without consequence, and that tech companies should have complete freedom in designing their platforms, with the expectation that users could simply leave if they were unhappy.
However, this hands-off philosophy is now being challenged in courts, by parents, and by state legislatures across the nation.
The repercussions of this unchecked digital environment are becoming starkly clear. As documented by Jonathan Haidt in his book, “The Anxious Generation,” rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, loneliness, and suicide among teenagers, particularly girls, have surged dramatically since smartphones and social media became pervasive around 2012.
In the decade that followed, major depressive episodes among teen girls nearly doubled, and emergency room visits for self-harm saw a significant increase. While parents have been diligent in monitoring their children’s physical safety, their oversight of online activities has often lagged behind.
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This has resulted in a situation where children are, as Haidt describes, “overprotected in the real world and underprotected online.” They experience less independence in their offline lives but are exposed to a constant stream of potentially harmful content, including pornography, predatory individuals, and relentless social comparison.
The United States’ laissez-faire stance on Big Tech extended beyond content moderation. The prevailing idea was that if consumers disliked a product’s functionality, they could simply switch to an alternative. The assumption was that if you didn’t like a platform’s operation, its shadow-banning practices, or its manipulative algorithms, you could just use a different app. However, recent court decisions and jury verdicts are increasingly demonstrating that these assumptions are not absolute.
Earlier this year, a jury in California ordered Meta and YouTube to pay $3 million to a family who suffered harm due to the addictive nature of their platforms. Similarly, a jury in New Mexico awarded $375 million in civil penalties against Meta for misleading and endangering young users. Just days ago, Meta reached a settlement with a Kentucky school district concerning addiction and mental health issues. In my home state, Attorney General Marty Jackley has joined the legal battle against Big Tech, asserting that Meta “needs to be held accountable for its actions.”
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These legal battles are yielding a clear message: private companies do not possess a free-market justification to create and market products without regard for their impact. The internet is not a lawless domain where free speech is the sole guiding principle and consent is the only prerequisite.
So, what concrete steps can be taken to regulate Big Tech and safeguard the upcoming generation?
As parents, we must critically evaluate the digital content and platforms we provide our children access to. In her book, “The Tech Exit,” author Clare Morrell outlines the detrimental effects of excessive screen time and offers practical strategies for families seeking to implement a 30-day digital “detox.”
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Her advice serves as a valuable resource for parents who have read “The Anxious Generation” and are determined to foster a healthier childhood for their children. Measures such as delaying smartphone access until children are older, implementing more robust safety features, and establishing clear boundaries around technology use can be highly effective.
While parents bear the primary responsibility for guiding their children’s upbringing, state and federal governments also have a crucial role to play. It is not incumbent upon individual families to ensure that multi-billion dollar tech corporations adhere to the law; this is where governmental oversight becomes essential.
Lawmakers should actively support protective legislation such as the App Store Accountability Act (ASAA). The core principle of this act is straightforward: tech companies should not be engaging in legal agreements directly with minors.
This legislation would mandate that app stores verify users’ ages, ensure that companies contract with parents rather than children, and require accurate age ratings so that families are fully informed about the content their children are downloading. It would also strengthen enforcement of COPPA, the federal law that prohibits companies from collecting personal data from children under 13 without parental consent, a measure already endorsed by over 170 pro-family organizations nationwide.
Furthermore, Congress should enact legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), championed by Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn and South Dakota’s Majority Leader John Thune. This legislation represents a significant advancement in protecting young users online through several key safety provisions.
Mandatory default settings would automatically activate safety protections, eliminating the need for parents to search for and manually enable them. The legislation would also incorporate addiction prevention measures, empowering parents to disable manipulative design features and algorithms.
Additionally, KOSA would establish a more streamlined process for identifying and reporting harmful content. Ultimately, the discussion surrounding sexualized chatbots should also be integrated into these critical safety deliberations.
While these protections are vital in the new digital era, we must not forget a centuries-old wisdom: “the government closest to the people serves the people best.”
Congress nearly overlooked this principle during the recent artificial intelligence discussions, where a moratorium on state-level actions was under consideration. Fortunately, this moratorium was rejected, preserving the ability of states to take action.
As legislative debates continue, Congress must resist any attempts by Big Tech to introduce similar moratoriums. The federal government can enact decisive measures while still allowing state legislatures to implement tailored policies specific to their unique contexts.
Implementing these steps is the most effective way to shield our children from the predatory practices of Big Tech and to empower parents in cultivating childhoods rich in the real-world connections that young people deserve.
