Why is it so hard to persuade lawmakers to protect children online?
Welcome to Wednesday's edition of Washington Secrets. Today, we hear from Rep. Erin Houchin about why it is so hard to protect children when they are online (spoiler alert: it’s Big Tech billionaires). And there’s good news (sort of) for Donald Trump: Voters don’t care much about the changes he is making to the White House.
TL;DR
- Online environments pose risks such as adults posing as children, children posing as adults, and online bullying.
- Vulnerable teens may receive dangerous advice regarding suicide from online creeps.
- Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN) has faced challenges in passing an amendment to ban social media for minors.
- A similar bill failed to advance through the markup process.
- Australia became the first nation to ban social media for children under 18 in December.
- The Australian ban restricts access to platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.