Governor Gretchen Whitmer called for stronger federal action to protect children from addictive practices by social media companies to keep kids online.
The Democratic governor took part in a summit Tuesday of groups seeking to hold internet companies accountable for what they describe as harms caused by businesses that put their interests ahead of protecting vulnerable users.
Windsor Western, a co-founder of the activist group Her Campus Media, said jury verdicts in New Mexico and Los Angeles held social media companies liable for using online addiction to meet growth targets.
“We are officially in a new era,” she said. “Last month’s verdicts against Meta and YouTube proved what everyone in this room already knew – that infinite scroll is not an accident. They did it on purpose. It was an engineering choice to keep us all addicted.”
Meta and YouTube could appeal the verdicts.
Michigan has passed laws to limit screens in classrooms, ban holding devices while driving, and punish using AI to create graphic images of people without their consent. But Whitmer said online bullying and tech industry practices to keep children online don’t stop at state borders.
“So, we’ve taken the action that we can at the state level, but we need to do a hell of a lot more,” she said. “We’ll do what we can. So long as I’m governor, we’ll make sure to do that, but, I think, ultimately, I think we are going to need federal legislation on this front.”
There are bills awaiting action in the Michigan Senate that would require social media companies to take steps to protect minors from harmful business practices that have been linked in some instances to depression and suicide risk.
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