Hey Congress: Stop Ignoring the Social Media Crisis

We have a right to know how Big Tech is collecting our information and feeding our kids addictive content. Congress must adopt responsible safeguards now.

​​Americans are concerned about the negative impact of social media — on the truth and the health and well-being of our children. The platforms collect our personal information without our permission and control the content we see with manipulative algorithms.

Our children have an addictive relationship with social media. It makes them worse at interacting with people face-to-face and weakens their ability to think for themselves. The increased presence of AI has the potential to make everything bad about social media even worse.

These companies don’t care about the health or well-being of our children. They only want to maximize revenue and profits.

While every parent knows it’s their responsibility to manage their kids’ social media usage, they can’t make social media safer – Congress needs to step in with responsible solutions that hold the platforms accountable.

These solutions must be guided by the following principles:

1. Our children, our communities, and our national security must come first. No longer can Big Tech be allowed to design addictive products, harvest user data, and manipulate users to maximize their profits, with no regard to the consequences.
2. Americans have a fundamental right to privacy. Congress must stop social media platforms from collecting our information without permission, and collect only the data they need to operate effectively and in the interest of consumers.
3. Social media products must protect the mental, physical, and developmental health of American children. This includes ending addictive practices like the endless scroll and targeted advertising to minors.
4. We have a right to know how social media technology is controlling the content we see and the impact on our health and wellbeing. Parents should be able to easily understand how these platforms are designed and operated.
5. Social media platforms must adopt safeguards to prioritize fact-based information to stop foreign and domestic adversaries from spreading false or misleading information.

Congress has not passed meaningful technology reform legislation since 1996, when the internet was in its infancy, but they are now considering several responsible solutions with strong bipartisan support. Join us in calling on Congress to come together and enact comprehensive, responsible safeguards. 

The Council for Responsible Social Media, a project of Issue One, is the most comprehensive, bipartisan initiative created to advance reform of the largest online platforms. The Council unites policymakers, technologists, and impacted communities in this shared effort. We are committed to ensuring a safe and healthy online ecosystem.