Instagram chief says tech companies must earn liability shield
BNN Bloomberg
Instagram’s chief told U.S. senators that tech companies should only receive legal protection from liability for user-generated content if they adhere to kids’ safety rules established by a new oversight body
The Meta Platforms Inc. executive who leads Instagram told U.S. senators that tech companies should only receive legal protection from liability for user-generated content if they adhere to kids’ safety rules established by a new oversight body -- part of his pitch to diffuse congressional anger at the social media giant.
The proposal from Instagram’s Adam Mosseri expands a previous call from Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook parent Meta, for lawmakers to update technology companies’ legal shield, known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Critics say reforming the law would only benefit dominant platforms that have resources to devote to complying with the new legal requirements.
Under Mosseri’s proposal, Congress would form “an industry body that will determine best practices” for how tech companies should keep children and teens safe online. In consultation with outside experts and advocates, that group would develop uniform standards for how internet platforms verify the ages of their users, design age-appropriate experiences and include parental controls in their services, Mosseri said.
“I want to assure you we do have the same goal: We all want teens to be safe online,” Mosseri said Wednesday during a Senate subcommittee hearing. “This is an industrywide challenge that requires industrywide solutions and industrywide standards.”
For years, Meta has called on Congress to pass new regulations for online platforms in the face of bipartisan criticism that the company doesn’t do enough to protect users’ safety, privacy or well-being on its social networks. While lawmakers have proposed several Section 230 bills, there is little consensus among them on the best strategy to force tech companies to improve their business practices.
Mosseri touted a recent announcement by Instagram about a handful of new product features designed to improve teen safety and parents’ visibility into their children’s digital behavior. The changes will let users of the photo-sharing app set a reminder to take breaks from scrolling, limit the interaction between teens and people they don’t follow and provide more tools for parental control.
