AUSTIN 性视界传媒 Texas lawmakers vowed this past week to hold Big Tech accountable for failing to protect minors from harm on social media, including exposure to pornography and sex trafficking.
性视界传媒淭here性视界传媒檚 been no significant change to protect minors from the harms we continue to see on social media,性视界传媒 said Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, co-chair of the Joint Committee to Study the Effects of Media on Minors, which met Tuesday at the state Capitol.
性视界传媒淪tudy after study shows an increase in self-harm, an increase in body dysmorphia in our girls, an increase in porn addiction and aggression in our boys and the steady increase in suicide for all youth,性视界传媒 Patterson said.
Patterson called it 性视界传媒渁 slap in the face to every Texan性视界传媒 that no social media company made a representative available to testify at the committee性视界传媒檚 hearing.
Meta, X, TikTok and Snap declined the panel性视界传媒檚 invitation to testify.
Patterson filed legislation in the 2023 legislative session to bar children between 13 and 18 from using any social media platforms. His proposal was referred to the Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety but no action was taken.
He filed a similar bill in November to restrict children younger than 18 from using social media.
性视界传媒淚 refuse to sit idly by and allow our children to be present on social media platforms when the very same social media companies will not show up for a study committee addressing the concerns expressed by Texans and others across the nation,性视界传媒 Patterson said.
The hearing came a week before Texas性视界传媒 biennial legislative session begins and weeks after the 118th Congress left Washington without passing a pair of children性视界传媒檚 online safety bills that overwhelmingly passed the U.S. Senate in July.
Committee members and witnesses highlighted the dangers Texas youth face from platforms they argued are addictive by design, such as access to porn that later contributes to divorce, single-parent households, emulation of violent acts children think are normal, sexual assaults, erectile dysfunction and unhealthy standards for relationships. They also said such platforms leave children susceptible to peer pressure and bullying and limits their attention spans.
Proposals discussed included teaching students about digital literacy, limiting screen time on school-issued devices, taking students性视界传媒 phones during instructional time, requiring users to opt in to data collection rather than having to opt out and strengthening Texas Education Association guidelines for school districts to force compliance.
Robert Epstein, a senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, said internet addiction is becoming more harmful to the nation性视界传媒檚 youth than smoking, drinking or substance abuse.
性视界传媒淪oftware engineers now work closely with behavioral engineers to design and optimize online content that keeps young people glued to their computers and mobile devices during all their waking hours,性视界传媒 Epstein said.
Joshua Broome, a former porn actor turned pastor, called himself an 性视界传媒渁nomaly性视界传媒 for getting healthy after overcoming a porn addiction at age 13. He lamented that people 性视界传媒渃are more about what we have the freedom to watch than the harm that it causes.性视界传媒
Deasia Wiggins 性视界传媒 a youth peer counselor at the Harris Center for Mental Health IDD, an acronym for intellectual development disabilities, who grew up in foster and group homes 性视界传媒 told the committee her friends have been 性视界传媒渃hoked, slapped, spanked and raped because that性视界传媒檚 what people using pornography think sex is about.性视界传媒
Wiggins advocated for passage of a Senate bill introduced last session by Sens. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney; Bob Hall, R-Edgewood; and Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston. That proposal would have required manufacturers to automatically enable a filter to prevent minors from accessing, downloading or displaying explicit material.
性视界传媒淭oday性视界传媒檚 parents weren性视界传媒檛 parented through this,性视界传媒 Paxton said. 性视界传媒淧arents are really in a tough spot because they性视界传媒檙e having to parent their children through very difficult, challenging, confusing, complex issues in a way that they haven性视界传媒檛 seen modeled for themselves.性视界传媒
Lindy McGee, a Houston pediatrician, said social media is 性视界传媒渁 danger to the fabric of our society.性视界传媒
性视界传媒淚t性视界传媒檚 just staying alone in your room and not having friends. We know that social interaction is such a huge part of being human,性视界传媒 she told the committee. 性视界传媒淎nd this isn性视界传媒檛 social interaction. The kids think it is, and it性视界传媒檚 not. All of us who are old enough to have this experience with healthy relationships know that this isn性视界传媒檛 the same thing.性视界传媒
Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, framed the issue as 性视界传媒渁 massive public safety crisis性视界传媒 the government needs to figure out.
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, apologized for her naivete in not fully grasping the pervasiveness of youth online culture. But she argued Texas can be a leader on this issue.
性视界传媒淎nd Texas is big enough to move the needle and be aggressive,性视界传媒 she added. 性视界传媒淪o anybody out there lobbying for Big Tech or the search engines or the apps, come ready, OK? Come with a heart full of goodness so we can literally get rid of this scourge that is destroying the lives of our children and future generations.性视界传媒
