Accountable Tech Statement on the Passage of Vermont Kids Code
Accountable Tech Executive Director and Co-Founder Nicole Gill issued the following statement on the passage of the Vermont Kids Code.
Accountable Tech Executive Director and Co-Founder Nicole Gill issued the following statement on the passage of the Vermont Kids Code.
Carl Szabo, vice-president and general counsel of the tech trade association NetChoice, spoke against the Maryland bill at a state senate finance committee meeting in mid-2023 as a “lifelong Maryland resident, parent, [spouse] of a child therapist” [as shown in a tweet from Accountable Tech].
Zamaan Qureshi speaks during a rally organized by Accountable Tech and Design It For Us to hold social media companies accountable for protecting kids and teens online on January 31, 2024, in Washington, DC.
Accountable Tech Executive Director and Co-Founder Nicole Gill issued the following statement on the Maryland General Assembly’s unanimous passage of the Kids Code, which now heads to Governor Wes Moore’s desk.
KOSA has been endorsed by a broad cross-section of groups including: Common Sense Media, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Compass, Eating Disorders Coalition, Fairplay, Mental Health America, and Digital Progress Institute. An organizer, Accountable Tech, is paying to have the letter sent to Schumer appear as an ad in the New York Times, sources said.
Accountable Tech and Design it for Us will hold a rally outside the Capitol following the hearing. Design it for Us is more focused on the harms it says are posed by Meta, Snap and TikTok. But it added in a statement, "That certainly doesn't excuse Discord and X."
Groups representing nearly 2 million educators, physicians, legal experts, tech whistleblowers, technologists, plus 21 bipartisan state Attorneys General, and the FTC file briefs urging Ninth Circuit to block Big Tech’s effort to weaponize First Amendment, overturn the nation’s first comprehensive children’s privacy law and imperil existing consumer safety laws
A whopping 86% of voters support congressional action, and 82% believe social media platforms should be required to take concrete steps to protect young people online, according to a poll by Accountable Tech.
Various civil society groups issued statements in support of the bipartisan lawsuit against Meta. Accountable Tech executive director Nicole Gill applauded the state attorneys general’s effort to “curb Big Tech’s unchecked power over our daily lives” as Meta operates “without any regard for their role in the youth mental health crisis, focusing solely on maximizing their profits by creating addictive design features.”
We applaud today’s bipartisan lawsuit by state attorneys general to curb Big Tech’s unchecked power over our daily lives and protect young people from the online harms they face every day.
Aditi Ramesh, policy manager at nonprofit watchdog Accountable Tech, said she hopes there is a "domino effect" as more states consider new rules of the road for tech with the end-goal of "putting increased pressure on Congress to create a more unified approach to tech regulation."
By calling for safety by design and privacy by default, the Age-Appropriate Design Code serves as a road to accountability for tech companies. Instead, today’s decision gives tech companies a free pass to put profit over kids’ safety online.
Once again, elected officials have sided with Big Tech, choosing to prioritize their interests over the safety of Minnesota children.
Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of tech watchdog group Accountable Tech, said companies are running a two-track campaign. She said they’re making design changes that may make minor safety improvements for kids, “while at the same time, their government relations teams — up to their CEOs — are directly lobbying Congress and state legislatures to do absolutely nothing to regulate them.”
"I have an anxiety disorder, and I have OCD," Lembke told Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in March 2022, during a roundtable hosted by the nonprofit Accountable Tech. "I was never warned that entering these online platforms would only amplify the things that I already struggle with."
Critics’ say: Nicole Gill, executive director of tech watchdog group Accountable Tech, said the companies “are directly lobbying Congress and state legislatures to do absolutely nothing to regulate them.”
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) represents a critical step towards protecting our kids and teens online. Big Tech companies are shamelessly cashing in on a perverse business model that harms young people.
These new bills in state houses across the country represent a threat to young people's privacy. Rather than restrict young people's access, we can make these platforms safer for kids through design requirements and standards.
We have an opportunity right now to protect kids online with meaningful legislation. We should take it.
Big Tech designs their platforms to hook and addict users, which poses a serious threat to young people's mental health and well-being.
“The data has shown us, time and again, that various online platforms, such as social media, contribute to a myriad of issues including depression and anxiety and are highly addicting,” said Nicole Gill with Accountable Tech. “We firmly believe that a child’s safety should be paramount and that platforms should enact the highest privacy protections when designing, developing and providing that feature. Through the passage of AB 320 in Nevada, we hope to see that belief become a reality. "
Advocacy organizations Accountable Tech and LOG OFF conducted a poll with 912 American teenagers to understand social media usage habits. They found that:
New polling released today by Accountable Tech and LOG OFF finds that the design of social media and online platforms is actively harming U.S. teens — adding further evidence for why design reforms outlined in the Age Appropriate Design Code are desperately needed to protect kids online.
“No parent should have to deal with the horrific reality of losing a child to online bullying, illegal or harmful substances sold over social media, or from falling prey to dangerous online communities,” the groups wrote. Tech Oversight Project, Accountable Tech, the Center for Digital Democracy, Fairplay, Parents Together, Common Sense Media, Tech Transparency Project, Eating Disorders Coalition and Friends of the Earth.
Besides 5Rights and Accountable Tech, the coalition backing the age-appropriate design bills also includes Parents Together and Design It For Us. Advocates insist the law is needed to better protect children from harmful online content and to block features like Autoplay that encourage youth to spend hours online.
Tomorrow, youth activist Emma Lembke – a former Accountable Tech intern who continues to work closely with the organization – will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about Big Tech’s ongoing exploitation of our children for profit.
These updates show why passing laws that change the incentive structure for Big Tech is imperative. The California Age Appropriate Design Code is already pushing companies like Meta to proactively enhance their existing limited privacy and safety measures for children and teens.
"The bill focuses on establishing a floor of safety and security for young people," Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of Accountable Tech, which supports the legislation, told Axios.
In signing the California Age Appropriate Design Code Act into law, Governor Newsom is sending a clear message to Big Tech: Put our children over your profits.
Accountable Tech, an advocacy group that has criticized large tech platforms, called the bill’s signing “a monumental win.” “This new law will upend the status quo and take real steps to stop pervasive surveillance, profiling, and manipulation of kids online,” said Nicole Gill, the group’s executive director. “It also will serve as a transformative model for other states and countries, so that every child is protected from Big Tech’s abuse and exploitation – not just those in California.”
This landmark legislation would require online platforms to prioritize the safety and well-being of kids by design and by default for them.
Accountable Tech, a group that has backed federal antitrust legislation targeting Big Tech platforms, also lauded the news. “If signed into law, this historic legislation would represent a seismic shift in the fight for online privacy,” co-founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill said in a statement.
Today California took a massive step forward in securing a future in which the internet is fundamentally designed around the best interests of young people.
Today’s vote in the California Senate Appropriations Committee brings us closer than ever to securing a future in which the internet is fundamentally designed around the best interests of young people.
Jesse Lehrich co-founder of tech watchdog Accountable Tech, reacted to a description of the draft bill by raising concerns about child privacy. "It’s a massive invasion of children’s privacy and freedom to learn and grow," he said. "And it creates nightmarish scenarios, like an LGBTQ kid being outed by these apps, or data being weaponized against a teen who needed an abortion in a state where it’s been criminalized."
With today’s unanimously approved policy statement, Chair Khan and the FTC have sent a powerful message that they will use every tool at their disposal to safeguard our kids from exploitative tech companies.
Accountable Tech, a left-leaning advocacy group, argued in a policy memo comparing U.S. and E.U. tech reforms that Europe’s incoming regulation “reads like an omnibus bill written by top American lawmakers” because of its overlap with many U.S. proposals.
Big Tech has thrown everything at the wall already, but now, Europe has the chance to pass this sweeping legislation to rein in Big Tech's harms and monopoly power.
The letter is signed by 60 advocacy organizations, including Fairplay, the Center for Digital Democracy, Accountable Tech and the American Academy of Pediatrics. It was addressed to the top lawmakers of both parties in the House and Senate.
Accountable Tech hosted a roundtable with five youth activists and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on social media’s impact on young people’s mental health.
We applaud President Biden for recognizing the inconvenient truth Big Tech executives continue to deny—that their products and platforms now play an important role in defining the future of this country.
Facebook is the top spender on lobbying in D.C. They do exactly the opposite of what Mark Zuckerberg says he supports in public when Facebook says they support government regulation.
"A coalition of advocacy groups — including Fairplay, Accountable Tech, the Center for Digital Democracy and Common Sense — are today launching Designed With Kids in Mind, a campaign calling for a design code to protect children online."
"In this op-ed, Gen-Z for Change and Accountable Tech calls on Facebook to release all of its internal research on the effects of Instagram on teen mental health."
We're seeing growing momentum in Congress for legislation to rein in Big Tech's harms.
"I’d be shocked if this Congress manages to pass a sweeping federal privacy law,” said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a progressive-leaning nonprofit dedicated to reigning in social-media giants. “But I do think bills like the KIDS Act that take direct aim at those manipulative features are suddenly in play.”The Wall Street Journal: "I’d be shocked if this Congress manages to pass a sweeping federal privacy law,” said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a progressive-leaning nonprofit dedicated to reigning in social-media giants. “But I do think bills like the KIDS Act that take direct aim at those manipulative features are suddenly in play.”
I think this is Facebook's attempt to stave off regulation. This rollout from Facebook is a PR play. If they were really interested in helping kids, they would have done these changes years ago.
This morning, Accountable Tech launched a six-figure national cable ad urging Congress to investigate Facebook over recent revelations that the company concealed internal research.
There is nothing more chilling than turning one’s back on a child who’s in harm’s way. Yet, this is what Facebook and Instagram executives do every day.
Accountable Tech released a new national poll of 1,000 parents of school-aged children – conducted by GQR Research – measuring their sentiments about the behavior of major tech platforms and key issues facing kids and teens online.
Big Tech companies are some of the most powerful and profitable companies in history, presenting new threats to the safety of communities and the health of democracy. We’re taking them on through legislation, regulation and direct advocacy.