TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has joined 43 attorneys general from around the county urging social media sites to allow parents the ability to monitor a child’s online activity.
In a letter to TikTok and Snapchat this week, Moody and others asked the social media companies to create parental control applications and features to protect children from harmful content.
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I am joining a coalition of more than 40 attorneys general in an effort to convince TikTok and SnapChat to improve parental controls to help better protect kids online. https://t.co/rKXOcCa74C pic.twitter.com/NtH1f9By8R
— AG Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) March 29, 2022
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“The internet is a dangerous place for children to explore without any guidance or protection. As a mother, I worry about what my child may encounter online.” Moody said.
The letter goes on to point out that several other social media platforms already use some form of content moderation and community guidelines, but note that they are not always sufficient to protect children and teenagers who are vulnerable.
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“Parental control apps can alert parents or schools to messages and posts on platforms that have the potential to be harmful and dangerous. Apps can also alert parents of a child’s manifestations of desire for self-harm or suicide. On other platforms where these apps are allowed to operate appropriately, parents have received notifications of millions of instances of severe bullying and hundreds of thousands of self-harm situations, showing that these apps have the potential to save lives and prevent harm to our youth,” the letter states.
Other states attorneys general joining in the letter include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
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A copy of the full letter can be found here.
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