Patrick Kennedy Slams Slades for Lucrative Obstachers “ Social Media and Game Companies: “ We lose the fight ”
The United States failed its children by not protecting them from addictive products, former representative Patrick Kennedy told the host “Meet the Press”, Kristen Welker on Sunday.
“We must prevent all these intrusive dependence companies for profit from taking our children hostage. This is what they do,” accused Kennedy. The solution, he added, is to fight.
Welker and Kennedy focused on the online child security law on Sunday, who argue that supporters would require social media platforms to take the safety of children under the age of 16 more seriously. The concerns concerning censorship following the proposed bill were raised by the defense groups of the first amendment and the LGBTQ +communities.
“Our country comes across its own responsibility as guards of the future of our children. We are marketing marijuana across the country,” Kennedy told Welker. “How devil, with children’s anxiety rates and depression rates, is it logical to add to the drug addiction crisis by having more access – you know, access to drug addiction products?”
Sports betting is another problem, he added. “Our states become dependent on the income of sports betting. And I can guarantee you, just as you play this story on this young woman who is targeted, we already know the algorithms of these Paris companies target people at high risk. And we will see a strong correlation between people with drug addiction and suicide. ”
“And so what I say, Kristen is that we cannot just spend these invoices,” added Kennedy. We must prevent all these intrusive companies of for -profit dependence from taking our children hostage. That’s what they do. It’s a fight. And we lose the fight because we do not fight for our children to protect them from these companies that all their profit is: “How will I capture this consumer and lock them up as a consumer?” “”
As Welker pointed out, the last time the issue of online security and children was addressed by the Congress, it was in 1998 when the law on online privacy for children was adopted. Welker noted the long period that happened since and asked Kennedy why the problem was not solved more frequently.
“Well, the power of social media giants and their money, there will be a greater Meta regulation and all major social media companies than even tobacco or purdue,” he replied. “You know, deceive me once, ashamed to you.” Treat me twice, ashamed to me. We, as a country, have seen these companies and these industries take advantage of for -profit dependence. Purdue, tobacco. Social media is the next big one.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association called on Congress to adopt the online security law of children. The proposed bill also received the support of former president Joe Biden, who wrote in July 2024: “There is undeniable evidence that social media and other online platforms contribute to our mental health crisis for young people. Today, our children are subject to an online Wild West and our current laws and regulations are insufficient to prevent this. It spent time to act. “
The president of the Mike Johnson House has slowed down the progress of the bill in December. “Listen, I am a defender of child protection … And online security is of crucial importance … But we must also make sure that we do not open the door to violations of freedom of expression,” he advised the Republicans at the time.
