Platforms like Snapchat, Discord, TikTok and X are all quite popular with teenagers, and that makes them rather risky since adults can chat with minors unsupervised. As a result of the fact that this is the case, these companies have introduced supervision controls that parents can use to keep an eye on who their children are talking to and when, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, most of the parents of users aren’t really taking advantage of these protective measures.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snap, spoke before a Senate Judiciary Committee today. He stated that around 20 million teenagers from the US are using Snapchat, but just 200,000 parents have taken advantage of the Family Center controls that are on offer.
These controls were introduced because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up protecting minors from coming to harm. They were the result of pressure from outside groups to protect their minor users, but it turns out that not parents are not using them and that could make the apps more dangerous fro teens than might have been the case otherwise.
Spiegel spoke alongside the CEOs of Meta, X, Discord, and TikTok, and he was the only one to provide specific numbers. Mark Zuckerberg stated that he couldn’t provide any precise numbers at this current point in time, but that his company was working hard to raise awareness for supervision tools. Linda Yaccarino, the recently instated CEO of X, said that just 1% of its 90 million US users were underage, but the company is figuring out how to monitor them.
As for TikTok, its CEO Shou Zi Chew said that he couldn’t give specific figures either, but pointed out that TikTok was among the first social media platforms that tried to give parents these controls. It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out, since this is perhaps the most important thing that social media platforms need to focus on.
Photo: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Read next: Senate Threatens Social Media Titans with Dismantling Over Child Safety Neglect
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snap, spoke before a Senate Judiciary Committee today. He stated that around 20 million teenagers from the US are using Snapchat, but just 200,000 parents have taken advantage of the Family Center controls that are on offer.
These controls were introduced because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up protecting minors from coming to harm. They were the result of pressure from outside groups to protect their minor users, but it turns out that not parents are not using them and that could make the apps more dangerous fro teens than might have been the case otherwise.
Spiegel spoke alongside the CEOs of Meta, X, Discord, and TikTok, and he was the only one to provide specific numbers. Mark Zuckerberg stated that he couldn’t provide any precise numbers at this current point in time, but that his company was working hard to raise awareness for supervision tools. Linda Yaccarino, the recently instated CEO of X, said that just 1% of its 90 million US users were underage, but the company is figuring out how to monitor them.
As for TikTok, its CEO Shou Zi Chew said that he couldn’t give specific figures either, but pointed out that TikTok was among the first social media platforms that tried to give parents these controls. It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out, since this is perhaps the most important thing that social media platforms need to focus on.
Read next: Senate Threatens Social Media Titans with Dismantling Over Child Safety Neglect
