Bosses at TikTok, Facebook and Instagram have denied their social media platforms are addictive amid growing outrage over a lack of action on protecting kids online
Bosses at TikTok, Facebook and Instagram have denied their platforms are addictive amid growing outrage over a lack of action on protecting kids online.
Alistair Law, a director of public policy at TikTok, and Rebecca Stimson, who holds the same role at Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, today came under intense pressure from MPs on the Education Select Committee.
A landmark US trial last month ruled Meta intentionally built addictive social media platforms. The tech giant is appealing the ruling. TikTok had also been a defendant in the case and reached an undisclosed settlement ahead of the trial.
But bosses at the firms dismissed the notion their sites are addictive when asked directly by Lib Dem MP Caroline Voaden what they were doing to tackle the problem.
Ms Stimson said: “We obviously are appealing that court case. So we don’t also accept the premise that our platforms are addictive so I can’t talk about that too much.” She pointed to other safety measures Meta has implemented including an algorithm reset, which she said had led to 50 million fewer hours online, or 15-minute app caps that can be set by parents.
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“We are not intending for our platforms to be overconsumed by anyone and we’ve introduced a whole range of ways to try and prevent that,” she added.
TikTok chief Mr Law similarly brushed aside the question, telling MPs: “I don’t think that we accept the premise that there is an inherent addictiveness.” He pointed to the platform’s action to bring in screen time caps for under 16s, family pairing that allows parents to monitor their kids’ accounts and a meditation feature to help teens wind down after 10pm.
He continued: “It’s a constant level of ongoing review of the evidence, working with partners and making sure that we understand the experiences of people so that we can build the tools that give them agency and a balanced environment.”
While both bosses insisted they had robust measures to protect younger users on their platforms, they admitted age verification technology is not accurate enough. Children must be aged 13 or over to create accounts on TikTok and Meta, with firms enforcing extra protection measures for under 16s or under 18s.
Chair of the committee Helen Hayes, a Labour MP, told the tech chiefs their safety measures “aren’t working”, pointing to research that shows children as young as five are being groomed into live-streaming harmful content on TikTok.
Mr Law said TikTok is talking to police about the specific example but admitted more generally: “It’s absolutely a challenge I think that we’re all alive to, which is whether or not the age verification elements that you have for those risky aspects of your site are sufficient.”
Ms Stimson separately said: “There is a real problem with age assurance. We take a huge range of steps to try and make it as accurate as possible… I think it’s a collective challenge. We absolutely have a responsibility. The OSA (Online Safety Act) includes requirements around highly effective age assurance. There is a limit to that technology at the moment.”
Speaking after the evidence session, Ms Voaden said: “It is absolutely galling for social media giants to say their platforms are not addictive.
“Parents, experts, whistleblowers, even users, are all aware of the dangers posed by social media. The platforms are the only ones still in denial, spouting claims which have zero credibility. Today’s session reaffirmed that we cannot wait for platforms to do the right thing.”
Last month, a Los Angeles jury found that Meta and Google, owner of YouTube, intentionally built addictive social media platforms that harmed a 20-year old woman’s mental health. The woman, known only as Kaley, was awarded $6m (£4.5m) in damages.
The UK government is currently consulting on introducing a social media ban for under 16s, amid pressure after Australia brought one at the end of last year. Ministers want to assess the evidence first as they fear a ban could push teens into darker areas of the internet.
Other measures being considered include overnight curfews, raising the age of digital consent, caps on app usage, and curbs on so-called addictive design features, such as streaks and infinite scrolling.