Three social media companies have agreed to be tested for how well they protect the mental health of teenage users. The companies — TikTok, Snap and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram — have all agreed to participate in new testing that the Mental Health Coalition announced Monday.
The testing, part of a new Safe Online Standards initiative, will grade social media platforms on whether they mandate breaks, offer options to disable endless scrolling and other criteria.
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Companies whose sites rate highly will receive a blue shield badge, while those that rate poorly will be branded as not able to block harmful content, The Washington Post reports.
“Standards and ratings are commonplace today, except in the online technology space,” said Dr. Dan Reidenberg, Founder and Director of Safe Online Standards at the Mental Health Coalition, a nonprofit founded by the designer Kenneth Cole. “The public and advertisers want to know what is a safer place for youth and young adults in their online activities, and now we can help them with that through the S.O.S. program.”
While the testing is not a replacement for protective legislation, Reidenberg told The Post that the initiative will be a helpful way for parents and teens to decide how to engage with certain apps.
What the platforms are saying
Meta, Snap and TikTok all shared statements on their participation, expressing support for the Mental Health Coalition’s mission.
“We are humbled to learn from the Safe Online Standards and the expertise of Dr. Reidenberg and the Mental Health Coalition as we continue our daily efforts to ensure teens have a safe experience online,” Suzy Loftus, Head of Trust & Safety at TikTok, said.
“We are committed to doing our part to carefully and responsibly address suicide and self-harm content on our platform and across the ecosystem, and to provide tools, resources, and materials to those who may be struggling,” Snap said in a statement.
Ongoing lawsuits
The testing comes as social media platforms face growing scrutiny and lawsuits over transparency and harm to children and teens. Opening arguments were heard Monday in a trial in Los Angeles against major social media platforms, with plaintiffs alleging the platforms were designed specifically to be addictive.
Snap and TikTok were named in the lawsuit but settled out of court for undisclosed amounts. However, Meta and Google will defend their platforms before a jury, and their chief executives — Mark Zuckerberg and Neal Mohan, respectively — are expected to testify.
Congress is weighing bills designed to protect children online, something that’s become increasingly common across the globe. In Australia, the government implemented a social media ban for anyone under 16.
Similarly, French lawmakers approved a bill banning social media for children under 15.
