Social Media: Why is social media dangerous for your children? know here...

In today's world, social media has become an integral part of our lives. It serves as a vital system for connecting with friends and family—including parents living far away—making it difficult to imagine life without it. However, a deeply concerning report has emerged regarding social media. In the US, Snap—the parent company of the social media app Snapchat—faces allegations that its platform facilitated the rape of a 12-year-old girl by a 25-year-old man. This incident is particularly significant given Snapchat's widespread popularity in India. Users frequently share both significant and mundane moments of their lives to maintain "streaks." This raises critical questions: How safe is social media for children? Why are companies so negligent regarding safety? What measures have been taken so far to rein them in? Let us examine these aspects in detail.

First, let us understand the US case. The company is accused of allowing the accused, Gabriel Joel Valentin-Rios, to lure a 12-year-old girl (identified as JF) into his trap using Snapchat features like "Quick Add" and "Snap Map." Snapchat officials discovered a manual on the dark web detailing how the platform's features could be exploited to target children and teenagers. A survey by the organization "Heat Initiative" revealed that nearly half of minor users had encountered inappropriate or unsafe content and messages on Snapchat over the past year. Meanwhile, major social media companies—including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat—are facing legal challenges. More than 3,300 lawsuits have been filed against these companies in California courts, alleging social media addiction and the resulting harm.

How sensitive is this issue for India? While Snap (Snapchat) faces allegations in the US, the matter is considered highly sensitive for India as well, particularly given its massive user base here. While the app has 106 million users in the US, it has nearly double that number—208 million—in India. Consequently, India should also view this news with a degree of caution. The app was launched in 2011.

**Prioritizing Profit**
The Netflix film *The Social Dilemma* emphasizes—and demonstrates through expert testimony—that algorithms create unsafe environments in the pursuit of profit. This point is largely corroborated by *The Facebook Files*, an extensive investigative series by *The Wall Street Journal*, which revealed that Facebook (Meta) was aware its platform was harmful to children yet prioritized profit. In essence, these companies are compromising the rights of ordinary people to maximize their earnings. This issue is also explored in the book *The Age of Surveillance Capitalism* by Shoshana Zuboff, which focuses on how social media companies have generated—and continue to generate—profit by treating human experiences as data.

**Ongoing Lawsuits Against Social Media Companies**
**Meta (Facebook and Instagram):** Meta faces the highest number of lawsuits globally. It confronts serious allegations regarding negligence in child safety, facilitating sexual exploitation via its platforms, and employing harmful algorithms. Hundreds of families in the US have sued Meta, claiming its platforms left minors vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abusive situations.

**TikTok:** TikTok has also faced lawsuits worldwide concerning safety issues. Investigations are underway in several countries, particularly regarding issues of child privacy and unsafe content. Some lawsuits allege that the platform's algorithms display content that can steer children toward harmful activities and exploitative content.

Twitter (now X)—Since Elon Musk's acquisition, there has been significant controversy regarding content moderation on the platform. Child safety groups have accused the platform of being lax in preventing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), leading to legal challenges in multiple countries.

Why are social media companies negligent about safety?
How safety got lost in the algorithms

More users mean more money—the owners of these platforms know that the longer a user spends on the site, the more revenue they generate from advertisements. However, the problem lies in the fact that the human brain is most drawn to sensational content. If algorithms prioritized peace and safety, users might get bored. Consequently, these platforms inadvertently promote attention-grabbing content, even if it is unethical.

The scale is inadequate—while they do establish "safety teams," these teams are merely a drop in the ocean. By the time they act on a complaint, the harmful content has often already gone viral, reaching millions of children.

Legal loopholes to evade responsibility—these companies operate as "intermediaries." They argue, "We are merely the road; if a crime occurs on the road, the company that built it isn't liable." This logic has long shielded them from massive fines. If they were to enforce overly strict safety measures, the platform might lose the "fun" and "speed" that drive engagement, potentially causing their stock prices to fall.

What can you do to stay safe?
Awareness is your greatest weapon for staying safe in the digital world. Start by tightening your privacy settings and keeping your profile private to limit access by strangers. If your child is under 18, periodically monitor their phone usage to see what apps they are using and what content they are viewing. Disable features like "Quick Add" to avoid suggestions from strangers, and restrict your "live location" sharing to trusted friends only. Vigilance is crucial; if you receive any suspicious messages, take a screenshot immediately and report it to the platform without delay. Remember, rather than silently tolerating any form of suspicious behavior, immediately reporting it to the relevant platform is the most appropriate and responsible way to ensure your safety.

Governments Crack Down on Social Media
It is not as if governments have remained silent regarding the conduct of these social media platforms; however, the measures taken so far appear insufficient given the scale of the issue. Whether it is the European Union’s ‘Digital Services Act’ (DSA) or India’s new IT rules, it is now clearly established that social media companies are not merely ‘intermediaries.’ If a crime is committed via their platforms, the companies will be held accountable. Ultimately, these tech companies must prioritize safety within their algorithms. As long as companies do not embed safety into their code, the risk of such incidents will persist. Amidst the complex web of the digital world, we need to ask ourselves: are we using technology that is safe, or are we simply becoming part of a profit-driven machine?

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