The vigil comes as pressure mounts against social media platforms to better protect children from the dangers of the digital world. — Reuters
They spoke about the deaths of their children – some as young as 11 – to cyberbullying, pills laced with fentanyl, sextortion scams and suicide-glorifying content.
"Meta profits; kids pay the price.” That’s the message the more than three dozen bereaved parents delivered to Meta’s doorstep in New York City Thursday morning.
The parents, many of whom have filed lawsuits against Meta and other social media platforms alleging the wrongful deaths of their children, had flown in from across the US and as far as the UK to hold a vigil outside the company’s East Village headquarters. One of the protest organisers described it as the largest rally by parents who say social media use killed their children.
More than 150 people joined the demonstration, many carrying photos of the children. They dropped 650 yellow, white and red roses outside Meta’s front door, alongside a letter to chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg demanding he take urgent action to better protect teens online.
The parents delivered speeches outside Meta’s office as a crowd erupted into chants of "shame!” and "change now!”
Amber Royer, who lost her 18-year-old son to fentanyl poisoning, said social media platforms have become digital playgrounds for predators, traffickers and drug dealers.
"We stand here today in the name of every child, every family broken, and every voice still shouting into the void of cyberspace – hoping someone will finally listen,” she said. "We don’t want another grieving mother holding up a picture. We want action. Transparency. Accountability. And most importantly, we want change.”
The vigil comes as pressure mounts against social media platforms to better protect children from the dangers of the digital world.
In recent years, thousands of lawsuits have been filed against Meta, TikTok and Snap in the US alleging harm to children, and the CEOs of these platforms have been hauled before Congress to answer questions about why they can’t keep kids safe. New regulations have been passed in the UK and other countries, while Australia passed a law banning teens under 16 from using social media.
Legislation in the US to require that social media companies put safety ahead of profit was passed overwhelmingly in the Senate last year but stalled in the House.
"We know parents are concerned about their teens’ having unsafe or inappropriate experiences online,” a Meta spokesperson said. "It’s why we significantly changed the Instagram experience for teens with Teen Accounts, which were designed to address parents’ top concerns.”
The new accounts have built-in protections that limit who can contact teens and the content they see, the spokesperson said, adding that the company has also bolstered safety features to help prevent abuse, like warning teens when they’re chatting to strangers in another country.
But, for the families who gathered in downtown Manhattan on Thursday, these changes are not enough. They called for Meta to make three specific adjustments to its platforms: Stop promoting dangerous content to kids, prevent sexual predators from using the platform to abuse kids and provide fast and transparent support for young users who report problematic content or interactions. More than 10,000 parents, advocates and concerned individuals signed the open letter requesting these changes, which was left at Meta’s door.
"My kid is dead. I have nothing else to lose,” Mary Rodee, mother of a 15-year-old boy who took his life in 2021 after he was coerced into sending intimate images by a sextortion scammer on Facebook, said at the vigil. "Like so many other families, I’ve been trying to meet with Mark Zuckerberg for years on this issue, but he refuses. We’re all here to show that we’re willing to do whatever it takes.”
The vigil was coordinated by Heat Initiative, ParentsTogether Action and Design It for Us. – Bloomberg
