Blackburn Takes Aim at Big Tech for Harming Teens’ Mental Health 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., took the Senate floor last week to call out Big Tech, targeting Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and accusing social media companies of harming young users. 

Her remarks come as a case unfolds in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where 20-year-old Kaley G.M. is suing Meta and Google’s YouTube. She accuses the companies of designing addictive and harmful platforms that have negatively impacted her mental health. Zuckerberg continues to deny these accusations. 

The case is part of a growing national debate over whether social media companies should be legally responsible for how their platforms affect teens’ mental health. 

Blackburn said on the Senate floor regarding this case, “New court documents that were made public … revealed that nearly 1 in 5—1 in 5—young teenagers have reported seeing nudity or sexual images on Instagram that they did not want to see.” 

The impact of these social media platforms has shown to worsen anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. 

CEO in Denial 

Zuckerberg denies that his platform increases mental health risks.  

“He asserted that there is no link between youth social media use and worse mental health outcomes,” Blackburn explained. “When a child is online, they are the product. The longer they are online, the richer their data.” 

Blackburn also noted that when Zuckerberg testified, downplaying the accusations, he did so within feet of the parents of children who have tragically lost their lives from social media. 

“Last year, Meta spent roughly $20 million fighting the Kids Online Safety Act.” 

Kids Online Safety Act 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Blackburn are sponsors of the Kids Online Safety Act. The legislation would protect minors from social media, video games, and other platforms by requiring safeguards for users under 17. 

Annie Chestnut Tutor, a policy analyst for the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation, said, “The revised KOSA requires platforms to obtain verifiable parental consent for research for children older than 13. This robust measure provides parents with greater autonomy over how Big Tech companies may use their children’s information.” 

She added, “KOSA empowers parents by giving them the final say in their child’s privacy and account settings.” 

New research and a poll show that 86% of Americans say “that they want tech companies to be held accountable for their role in the social media addiction crisis, and Congress should listen to them,” Blackburn said. 

She explained that an earlier version of the Kids Online Safety Act passed “the Senate on a 91-to-3 vote. It has a veto-proof majority.” However, it never passed the House before the last congressional session ended.