ICYMI: E&C Republicans Demand Transparency From TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat on Teen Mental Health and Censorship
Big Tech is a destructive force. Platforms have failed to promote the battle of ideas and free speech, and its business model harms children and their mental health. Furthermore, companies—like TikTok—maintain ties to China that raise significant concerns regarding the amount of access the Chinese Communist Party has to the personal information of Americans.
Leader Rodgers spoke with John Roberts on Fox News’ America Reports this afternoon to discuss how Big Tech continues to abuse its powers and must be held accountable.
LISTEN: @cathymcmorris voices her concerns when it comes to social media's growing impact on teens' mental health #AmericaReports pic.twitter.com/ZEKltLbHD7
— America Reports (@AmericaRpts) October 26, 2021
LEADER RODGERS ON BIG TECH CENSORSHIP – “As a conservative, I’m very concerned about the continued effort to silence constitutionally protected speech, political speech, and silence conservatives on their platforms. We must hold Big Tech accountable. We must stop this Censorship. We must protect our kids.”
Ahead of today’s Senate hearing with TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat executives on protecting kids on their platforms, House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers and other E&C Republican leaders sent letters to these companies demanding transparency for how they’ve abused their power.
CNBC EXCLUSIVE – “The letters, led by House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., come one day before executives from each company are set to testify before the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection. Reps. Robert Latta, R-Ohio, Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and Morgan Griffith, R-Va., also signed the letters.”
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“The letters to Snap, TikTok and YouTube ask for research each company has conducted on the impact of their platforms on the mental health of users of various age groups, such as those under 13, 13-18 years of age, and 18 and older. They also ask for internal communications about those impacts and for information about outside research that was contracted.
“The lawmakers also asked TikTok, whose parent company, ByteDance, is based in China, if it had ever been directed by the Chinese government to censor content on its platform or if it preemptively took down content for fear of “objections” from the government. They also asked if Chinese officials had sought U.S. user data and whether TikTok complied with such requests, if so.”
CLICK HERE to read the full CNBC exclusive
CLICK HERE to read the letter to TikTok.
CLICK HERE to read the letter to YouTube.
CLICK HERE to read the letter to Snapchat.
READ MORE about the E&C Republican’s Big Tech Accountable Platform.