Katie Britt says that youth mental health crisis is tied to the use of social media after the release of internal TikTok documents

October 11, 2024 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Katie Brit (R-Alabama) commented following the publication of an NPR article detailing how TikTok executives blatantly disregarded the health and well-being of their users in favor of the company's bottom line:

"There is no doubt that our nation's growing mental health crisis is inextricably tied to the rise of social media usage by children and teenagers," said Sen. Britt. "However, while our adolescents face these threats that are quite literally at their fingertips, Big Tech companies like TikTok continue to turn a blind eye. The dangers of social media transcend political party – our children deserve better than social media companies who prey on their adolescence."

"As a Senator, but more importantly as a parent, the revelations in these internal documents are disgusting," continued Britt. "This reporting is further proof Congress must act to protect the wellbeing of America's kids because Big Tech prioritizes profits over people. I won't stop fighting to protect the next generation and ensure each and every young person in our nation has the opportunity to live their American Dream."

The NPR article reveals faultily redacted portions of a lawsuit filed by the Kentucky Attorney General's Office earlier this month. This is part of a larger investigation into TikTok by the attorneys general of 14 states. The lawsuit illustrates that TikTok's own research shows that in just 35 minutes, a user "is likely to become addicted to the platform." Despite the company's awareness that its features can lead to "a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety."

"For the first time, internal TikTok communications have been made public that show a company unconcerned with the harms the app poses for American teenagers," NPR wrote. "This is despite its own research validating many child safety concerns."

The internal company research reveals that 95% of all smartphone users under the age of 17 use TikTok at least once a month. Instead of prioritizing the health and safety of its adolescent users, TikTok continues to knowingly implement ineffective tools aimed at improving public trust and increasing users.

Senator Britt has made protecting adolescents from the harmful impacts of social media a top priority during her first term in office. In May, she joined Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) in introducing the Kids Off Social Media Act. Senator Britt is also a cosponsor of Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Richard Blumenthal's (D-Connecticut) Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). A version of KOSA passed the Senate this summer.

Last month, Sen. Britt joined Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) in introducing the Stop the Scroll Act, which would create a mental health warning label requirement for social media platforms to ensure all users are aware of the potential mental health risks posed by social media usage and are provided access to mental health resources. The Senator led this bipartisan legislation in response to Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy recently calling for a warning label be placed on social media platforms.

Britt and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) have introduced the Youth Mental Health Research Act to create a national Youth Mental Health Research Initiative to guide long-term mental health care efforts, better target preventive interventions for those at risk of developing mental health challenges, and improve treatments for children.

The NPR article: https://www.nprillinois.org/2024-10-13/inside-the-tiktok-documents-stripping-teens-and-boosting-attractive-people

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