Common Sense Media Urges Tech CEOs to Acknowledge the Harm That Social Media Has Caused Children; Calls on Congress to Pass Legislation Immediately

SAN FRANCISCO, January 26, 2024—On January 31, the CEOs of Snap, Discord, TikTok, Meta, and X, the company formerly known as Twitter, will testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee about their failures to protect children online. James P. Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, issued the following statement about the hearing.

"There is nothing that these CEOs can say in this hearing that will justify their actions or alleviate the harm that social media platforms have inflicted on families over the last decade. Thanks to whistleblower testimonies, years of research, and countless families who have spoken out about their own tragic stories, the genie is out of the bottle on social media's profit-hungry practices and design features that harm kids. The tech companies know it, too; that's why Snap has announced its support of the Kids Online Safety Act ahead of this hearing.

The only satisfactory conclusion to the hearing is for the U.S. Senate to approve bills immediately that will make the internet safer and healthier for kids - including the bi-partisan Kids Online Safety Act, known as KOSA, and a bi-partisan bill to strengthen the 25-year-old federal children's privacy protection law, known as COPPA, and others. Congress cannot ignore the writing on the wall any longer and must pass KOSA and COPPA 2.0 now."

About Common Sense
Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. Learn more at commonsense.org.