Arabic version: تنفيذيون في وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي يرفضون مزاعم الإدمان على الأطفال
According to The Guardian,
Executives from three social media companies have denied their platforms are inherently addictive to children and young people, in a combative appearance before MPs in Westminster. Representatives from Meta, Roblox, and TikTok faced robust questioning from the cross-party education select committee about the impact of screen time and social media on children.
Rebecca Stimson, Meta’s UK director of public policy, highlighted the impracticality of enforcing an under-16 social media ban, referencing findings from Australia where many minors reportedly continued using social media despite restrictions. She stated: “We don’t think it’s something that’s actually possible in practice.”
The hearing was prompted by a recent court ruling in Los Angeles, where Meta and YouTube were found liable for deliberately designing addictive products that hooked a young user and led to her being harmed. Both platforms have announced their intention to appeal. Stimson emphasized that while their platforms are not intentionally addictive, they recognize the potential for misuse and are developing tools to help parents manage their children’s online activities.
Laura Higgins, senior director of community safety and civility at Roblox, stated: “There’s no evidence directly that says games are addictive by nature. Anything that is consumed excessively is harmful, so we would discourage that.” Alistair Law, TikTok’s director of public policy for Northern Europe, said: “I don’t think there’s been a clinical finding of addictiveness on this. That does not mean we don’t recognise a responsibility to drive healthy use.”
Committee chair Helen Hayes expressed skepticism over the executives’ claims, while Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden criticized the platforms for denying their addictive nature. Voaden urged the government to adopt stricter regulations, suggesting a film-style age rating for social media to better protect children from potential harm.
