Landmark policy and legislation moved forward to regulate and monitor social platforms in the past year.
While some bills have stalled, others have moved forward and are slated to make a big impact in the coming year. Advocates from the region have played a major role in the national conversation around social media and technology.
New York and Connecticut are among several states that are either investigating or were involved in a lawsuit against TikTok in state court. A multistate investigation into whether TikTok is violating state consumer protection laws was launched in 2022 because there was a concern it fueled the ongoing crisis in the mental health of children and teens.
The complaint outlines a range of concerns with the algorithm and app features. It alleges that TikTok intentionally maximizes users’ engagement through addictive design features. It claims that Minors and children are especially susceptible to being influenced by these features.
It specifically outlined features such as the “For You” feed and push notifications as an exploitation of dopamine release in the brain. The lawsuit further claims that beauty filters can impact self-esteem and disrupt sleep patterns from late-night scrolling. If they aren’t getting enough sleep that could affect their learning in school. All of these can have negative impacts on mental health.
“One significant example is the platform’s so-called “beauty” features that encourage unhealthy, negative social comparison, body image issues, and related mental and physical health disorders. In particular, beauty filters can exacerbate eating disorders as the filters create an impossible standard for teens who are forming opinions of themselves,” it read.
In September, more than 40 attorneys general wrote a letter to the U.S. surgeon general criticizing these media companies. They want a warning on all algorithm-driven social media platforms affirming that this is a critical public health issue.
CT Attorney General William Tong was one of several who was critical of these social platforms, calling them “dangerously addictive” because of their algorithms and infinite scroll features. Tong claimed that features are designed to override self-control and maximize profits.
“Warning labels are one significant step we can and should take to educate families and protect kids. But we cannot stop there. In coordination with state attorneys general across the country, we will not hesitate to use the full weight of our enforcement authority to force this broken industry to respect the law and the safety and wellbeing of our children,” Tong said.
The Kids Online Safety Act is a bipartisan bill that has been spearheaded by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). If passed, it would force social media companies to give parents and kids more options while using social media. Mainly the ability to turn on privacy settings, turn off addictive features, and opt out of certain algorithms.
The main focus is that by placing a “duty of care” on platforms, the burden of responsibility for mitigating online harms shifts to service providers rather than having it all be on individual users or parents.
There has been some back and forth about some of the language in the bill, which has changed since it was first introduced. The ACLU was among several voices that expressed concern about it restricting access to information about reproductive healthcare, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Blumenthal has been adamant about trying to pass it before the end of the year. But many, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, cited concerns about free speech. They will not move forward with a vote this year.
The “TikTok ban” is a bill signed this year by President Joe Biden. The actual language details that it would ban TikTok in the United States unless its parent company, ByteDance, divests the social media app. The bill claimed the reason was meant to “ sever ties with China.” Advocates have debated about whether or not the country influences its U.S.-based servers. However, efforts to delay or stop the law did not work.
The law is slated to go into effect on January 19. President-elect Donald Trump has recently said he might intervene but did not clarify or give details about how he would do that.
In December, the Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to a law on Jan. 10. The company is arguing that the ban on its U.S. operations goes against free expression protections.
It is uncertain if and how the Supreme Court hearing on Jan. 10 will impact the expected ban on Jan. 19.
