Social media would be liable for harm to kids under new proposal

If passed, the bill would require platforms to ‘give options to children and their parents to protect their info, to disable addictive features, and to opt out of the algorithm recommendations that often involve driving toxic content to kids’, said Blumenthal. — AFP Relaxnews

Social media companies would be liable for harm to minors under a new bipartisan proposal introduced on Feb 16 in the US Senate.

Content-targeting, unlimited screen time, and engagement-driving features like auto-play also would be disabled by default for children under a measure proposed by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Republican Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. Platforms would also be required to disclose more data to researchers and allow parents to control privacy and account settings.