TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat urged to adopt tougher protections for kids

A group of parents, child advocates and family policy groups is calling on TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat to adopt the same safeguards for minors recently agreed to by Meta, arguing that the changes should become an industry-wide standard.

In a letter sent to the three platforms and obtained by FOX Business, the American Principles Project and other organizations and community leaders called Meta’s new protections a “new and higher standard for the industry” that should serve as a “whole new rulebook” for social media companies.

“TikTok, Snapchat, and all the online platforms that deal with our children online have the duty to make the same changes that Meta did because our kids always need to be protected,” Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, told FOX Business.

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The letter argues that Meta’s changes will have limited impact if children restricted from Facebook and Instagram can simply shift their time to competing platforms. (Photo by Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The letter calls for strict daily time limits, restrictions during school hours and overnight, stronger parental controls over algorithmic feeds and autoplay, hidden likes by default and age verification.

It argues that Meta’s changes will have limited impact if children restricted from Facebook and Instagram can simply shift their time to competing platforms, warning that a “patchwork of rules” could leave gaps in protections for minors.

The push follows Meta’s settlement announced in August with a coalition of 52 attorneys general across states, U.S. territories and Washington, D.C., to pay up to $18 billion and overhaul teen experiences on Facebook and Instagram.

“These are real changes that uphold parental rights and measurably shape how minors interact with these platforms. But because these protections are limited to just two apps, we worry that this settlement leaves the job of protecting kids very much incomplete,” the letter states.

Schilling argued that children face growing problems tied to social media, including anxiety, body image concerns and exposure to explicit material.

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Schilling argued that children face growing problems tied to social media, including anxiety, body image concerns and exposure to explicit material. (iStock)

The letter also points to risks the group says exist across TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat, including exposure to violent or sexual content and contact with “drug dealers and predators.”

“We need to do a better job of cleaning up the internet,” Schilling said, adding that major platforms need to ensure they are “not exploiting our children for major profits.”

The group also highlighted…