Bilirakis Receives Local Input on How to Empower Parents to Better Protect Children Online

Port Richey, FL: Congressman Gus Bilirakis met tonight with a group of concerned educators and parents in Pasco County to discuss the nation's unprecedented mental health crisis among children and teens. There has been a disturbing spike in rates of depression, self-harm, and suicide attempts and death among teens. New researchshows that 46% of all U.S. teens self-report using the internet "almost constantly," and 97% self-report daily use. Other studies have linked high screen time to increased suicide risk. Experts suggest that teens who post content on social media are also at risk of sharing intimate photos or highly personal stories, which can result in teens being bullied, harassed or even blackmailed. Local law enforcement confirms that this is a substantial and growing concern throughout Pasco County. Congressman Bilirakis, Ranking Member of the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the regulation of Big Tech, has been working to address many of these issues and wanted to receive local input from parents and educators on his committee's work.

"Teens navigate being constantly connected through devices, and their reality is a blend of virtual and real-world experiences, which can exacerbate isolation and negative social interactions such as bullying," said U.S. Congressman Gus Bilirakis. "Tragically, a high school student in my district committed suicide just a few weeks ago. The investigation into her death showed that she had been the victim of vicious cyber-bullying on social media platforms. Her parents had no idea this was occurring. The statistics and stories are deeply troubling, and I have grown increasingly frustrated that social media companies are not doing enough to help."

During Congressional hearings on this topic, there appears to be bipartisan agreement that more must be done to hold Big Tech accountable for the harmful impact its platforms have on children's mental health. "We must take action to hold Big Tech accountable, force them to protect children on their platforms, and seek transparency so parents can make informed decisions," Bilirakis added.

The Big Tech Task Force, which Bilirakis helps lead, recently unveiled a legislative package to address this issue. The proposal would:

• Equip parents with tools necessary to ensure kids are safe online, such as the ability to monitor their use of social media, put time limits on use, and be notified if their child is engaged in certain activity (like cyberbullying), without enabling Big Tech to collect and share more of their information,
• Ensure parents can request and certify all information about their child collected by Big Tech be deleted,
• Limit what Big Tech can collect, share and use about children by restricting their handling of information with penalties,
• Raise the age of children covered under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act,
• Require Big Tech to have a user-friendly process that allows parents to reach out for help if their child is experiencing cyberbullying
• Reform section 230 to allow parents to hold Big Tech accountable when they knowingly facilitate illegal activity, such as illegal drug sales and child trafficking and exploitation,
• Support policies to protect our youth from adult online content, and
• Include warning labels for certain Big Tech products and services as it relates to certain risks and harms of using such products and services

Bilirakis has also filed the Cooperating Among Police, Tech, and Users to Resist Exploitation (or CAPTURE) Act which has already received a legislative hearing in the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee. This legislation establishes a foundation to strengthen coordination between law enforcement and Big Tech as the entities work to combat illegal activities on social media platforms.

"Too often we see bad actors utilize social media platforms to facilitate crime by luring and exploiting children and other vulnerable populations," Bilirakis offered. "The law enforcement community then encounters unnecessary barriers when attempting to investigate these crimes. We must remove the barriers in order to keep kids safe.

As Bilirakis heard testimony from parents whose children had encountered cyber-bullying and teachers who have witnessed the negative mental health impacts from social media use on their students, he vowed to do whatever it takes to fix the problem. "The stories shared by local parents and teachers tonight were heartbreaking. The input they provided will be vital in helping us strengthen our legislative proposals. We will no longer allow Big Tech to ignore the damage their platforms are causing to our children."

Pasco County School Administrator, Dr. John Legg, who helped arrange the listening session at Dayspring Academy, has been working to help educate local parents on the negative impact of social media. "We see first-hand every day in school the adverse effect social media is having on our children's mental health. I commend Congressman Bilirakis for tackling this critical issue head-on; our students' future is at stake," said Dr. Legg.