TikTok and Snapchat Parental Control, DOJ Endorses Antitrust Legislation, Senate Passes Competes Act
Forty-three state attorneys general signed a letter urging TikTok and Snapchat to have friendlier parental control policies.
Ashlan Gruwell
March 30, 2022 – Forty-three state attorneys general signed and sent a letter Monday to the legal offices of TikTok and Snapchat urging the social media companies to become more parent-control friendly.
The letter said that most other social media sites are conducive to third-party parent control applications that allow the user to monitor content, but TikTok and Snapchat do not have this ability.
TikTok’s “For You” and Snapchat’s “Discover” pages were specifically mentioned, with the attorneys general saying that the pages “propagate distributing sexual content and explicitly drug use to our youth.” The letter cites content that shows abusive relationships, human trafficking, and self-harm situations.
The letter concluded with a call to action for the companies to begin to work with outside parent control apps so there can be stronger parental controls on the platforms.
Department of Justice endorses the American Innovation and Choice Online Act
The Department of Justice is standing behind new antitrust legislation that specifically targets tech giants, reports The Hill on Tuesday.
The legislation in question is S.2992, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which would prevent major companies from showing a preference for their products on their own platforms over third-party products. It is likely that the bill would apply to Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Google, said The Hill.
The DOJ expressed its support through letters that they sent to senators that are heavily involved in the bill, writing that officials “believe that this legislation has the potential to have a positive effect on dynamism in digital markets going forward. Our future global competitiveness depends on innovators and entrepreneurs having the ability to access markets free from dominant incumbents that impede innovation, competition, resiliency, and widespread prosperity,” reported The Hill.
The bill has still been met with apprehension from members of both parties.
Competes Act passes Senate, moves to conference committee
On Monday, the Senate passed the America Competes Act, H.R.4521, which aims to help with the current supply chain problems concerning chips and semiconductors.
The legislation would, in combination with other legislation, provide $52 billion to incentivize the domestic production of crucial chips required for a vast array of technologies, including computers, transportation and telecommunications technology.
Currently, only 12 percent of global chip manufacturing occurs in the United States, a Senate committee heard last week.
The Senate and the House of Representatives will move the Competes Act to conference committee to make a version that can be approved by both chambers and then sent to President Joe Biden for his signature or veto.
