Snapchat says it will continue to fight abuse of its app, including cracking down on drug dealers "We do look at, for example, if a video was watched through its entirety," Miller said. Jennifer Stout, the vice president of global public policy at Snapchat parent Snap Inc., said time on the app is "one of many metrics" the company studies.Īnd Leslie Miller, YouTube's vice president of government affairs and public policy, like the other officials, would not directly answer the question of whether the video-streaming service defines success by how long people spend watching videos. Still, the app has a responsibility to give parents time management and "take a break" tools, he said.įor TikTok, Beckerman said, "overall engagement" is more important than how much time is spent on the app. Michael Beckerman, TikTok's vice president and head of public policy, was evasive, saying the viral video app sees itself as a form of entertainment, no different than television or movies. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., asked the company officials if platforms are designed to keep people engaged as long as possible. "What we want is not a race to the bottom, but a race to the top," Blumenthal said.įor teens and other young people using social media, being optimized for engagement can make social media apps addicting and lead users to content that is not age appropriate or is harmful, the lawmakers said. Lawmakers say that until incentives change, social media will be a 'race to the bottom'įor the youngest users, Blumenthal said, social media companies have a perverse incentive to keep eyeballs glued on their apps, regardless of what kind of content is eventually served up. Here are four takeaways from the hearing. "Now is the time for the legislative solutions to these problems." "The problem is clear: Big Tech preys on children and teens to make more money," Markey said. Ed Markey, D-Mass., offered an even blunter assessment. It's not a defense to say that you are different." "Being different from Facebook is not a defense," said Blumenthal, who leads the subcommittee. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said social media firms claiming they are distinct from Facebook is not going to cut it. Given how enormously popular Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are with teens, lawmakers expressed deep worry about the platforms having the ability to hurt users' self-image and contribute to other mental health issues. Haugen's disclosures about Facebook underscored the potential harms of the platform: its ability to amplify misinformation and how Facebook's own research showed that Instagram can worsen mental health and body-image issues for young people. Haugen says the documents show how the social network places profits over public safety. The hearing was convened by the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection, product safety and data security - the same panel that brought Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen to testify earlier this month about the thousands of pages of internal company documents she has shared with Congress, regulators and the press. It marked the first time Snapchat and TikTok have landed in the hot seat in Washington, D.C., and for nearly four hours lawmakers pressed the officials about how the apps have been misused to promote bullying, worsen eating disorders and help teens buy dangerous drugs or engage in reckless behavior. Lawmakers in the Senate hammered representatives from Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube on Tuesday, in a combative hearing about whether the tech giants do enough to keep children safe online.
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