Joe Biden, the president of the United States, will likely address children’s online safety concerns in his upcoming second State of the Union address.
According to a statement from the White House, the president will urge lawmakers from both parties to pass legislation banning intrusive marketing for children.
Tech businesses will be President Biden’s target audience for his second State of the Union address this Tuesday night as he discusses data privacy and online safety. He would demand the techniques and procedures used by these businesses to gather data on Americans, according to the reports.
Since these platforms don’t enforce their terms of service regarding minors, the president thinks it is the firms’ obligation, not the consumer’s, to limit the amount of data they gather.
Plans for the administration will be discussed in relation to the Children and Media Research Advancement Act, the new Center of Excellence on Social Media and Mental Wellness at the Department of Health and Human Services, and the surgeon general’s adolescent mental health advice.
The call for bipartisanship on IT issues is noteworthy since Congress will make it more difficult to pass legislation in any area. The president’s decision to emphasize technology may offer a unique opportunity for advancement.
According to the disclosed outline, there is already strong and mounting evidence that social media can have a negative impact on mental health, well-being, and development. The blueprint also said that “Children, Adolescents, and Teens are Particularly Vulnerable to Such Harm.”
The president and congressional leaders will be able to invite guests to the State of the Union address for the first time since 2019 during his speech. Only every member of the House and Senate, all nine justices of the Supreme Court, the majority of the president’s cabinet, and the diplomatic corps have been present for the past three years.
These anticipated subjects echo the president’s remarks from the 2022 address the previous year. Biden reportedly brought up the negative effects social media has on children’s and teenagers’ mental health, according to the reports.
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He praised Frances Haugen especially for leaking information from Facebook that resulted in five Senate hearings on children’s online safety. Additionally, Haugen was welcomed as a special guest to the ceremony by First Lady Dr. Jill Bide, demonstrating the president’s interest in her cause.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal introduced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) last year as a result of the five hearings. This measure would force businesses to give minor users the opportunity to secure their privacy by turning off algorithmic product suggestions and addictive product features.
According to the reports, Biden also asked for $5 million in his 2023 budget to begin this issue’s research. He asserted that social media has a negative impact on users’ clinical and societal treatments as well as mental health.
