This week, two U.S. senators introduced a bill that would require tech companies like Facebook parent company Meta to “prevent or mitigate” harms to minors including suicide, eating disorders, and substance abuse. This legislation arrives in the wake of testimony from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who handed over thousands of pages of documents detailing how Facebook knew its product could be harmful to young users but did little to change it.

If this bill passes, it would require Meta to build platform settings that make it difficult for other users to find minors online.  It would also restrict the amount of their data that could be collected and well as limiting the time young users can spend on a given platform.

“I think we are on the cusp of a new era for Big Tech imposing a sense of responsibility that has been completely lacking so far,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said. “For way too long, the internet was regarded as different from all other products. Well, now we’re going to have guardrails and safeguards for the internet that will enable children and their parents to protect themselves.”

This would be a seismic shift in the way Meta does business, and it would require the company to make a huge investment in its security and privacy features. However, Meta might want to prepare itself for such a change. The fact that this bill has bipartisan support is a promising sign that it may become reality sooner rather than later.

Recommended Resources

The Choice of Tech Experts Worldwide. Try 90 days free of Bitdefender and experience the highest level of digital safety.

Surf the web truly incognito. Try Bitdefender Premium VPN, the ultra-fast VPN that keeps your online identity and activities safe from hackers, ISPs and snoops.

System Mechanic 14 – Make your computer run like new. Winner of 200+ Editor’s Choice awards!