41 states sue Meta alleging that Instagram and Facebook is harmful, addictive for kids

 Lawsuit against Meta: States say Facebook, Instagram harms teens, kids (usatoday.com)

Social Platforms Feel Policy Pressure on Teen Privacy Controls

Tech companies including TikTok, Alphabet Inc., and Facebook Inc. are tightening privacy controls for teenagers as social media platforms feel policy pressure over protections for younger users.

Short-video platform TikTok, which is popular among teens, is changing privacy settings for users ages 13 to 17 to give them more control over who they share videos and messages with, the company announced in a blog post.

TikTok already makes accounts belonging to users under age 16 private by default, meaning only someone that they approve as a follower can view their videos. Features like messaging directly with other TikTok users are reserved for users who are 16 and older. The new controls for teens ages 13 to 17 build on existing measures by adding privacy prompts for video posts and downloads, along with a new default for direct messages.

TikTok’s measures come on the heels of similar moves to make teen accounts on Alphabet’s YouTube and Facebook’s Instagram more private by default.

Tech companies are likely acting in response to new design standards for children’s privacy in the U.K. and a legislative proposal targeting teen privacy in the U.S., according to Josh Golin, executive director of children’s advocacy group Fairplay.

The U.K.'s so-called age appropriate design code directs online services to build in privacy protections by default and to explain settings in ways that children would understand. Enforcement of the code begins in September.

“You can clearly see the hand of the age appropriate design code in all three of these announcements,” Golin said of the recent moves by TikTok, Google, and Facebook.

U.S. lawmakers are also showing interest in teen privacy that could lead to new rules for companies to follow. Legislation proposed in Congress earlier this year would require consent for collecting data from teenagers...

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/social-platforms-feel-policy-pressure-on-teen-privacy-controls

What Happens When Everyone Looks Away. NYT: A Criminal Underworld of Child Abuse, Part 1. "Every major tech company is implicated."

A monthslong New York Times investigation has uncovered a digital underworld of child sexual abuse imagery that is hiding in plain sight. In part one of a two-part series, we look at the almost unfathomable scale of the problem — and just how little is being done to stop it...

Part 1 and 2:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/podcasts/the-daily/child-sex-abuse.html

“I think we’re better off when we can all sort of listen to each other,” he said. But Del. Luedtke Blocks on Twitter and Facebook. @EricLuedtke

October 14, 2019

“Two careers that I love”: This UMD professor teaches public policy and creates it

When Eric Luedtke graduated in 2002 from the University of Maryland after studying government and politics and history, he didn’t know what he wanted to do.

He first got a job running a county council race, and eventually returned to Maryland for his masters in education. From there, he taught social studies in Montgomery County Public Schools for a while. And he said it was at this job that he was sucked into another world altogether: the world of policy.

Today, Luedtke goes from the corridors of Tawes Hall to the chambers of the Maryland House of Delegates — splitting his time between teaching public policy and creating it.

In the fall, Luedtke teaches classes with an average of about 35 students, but in the spring, he represents more than 120,000 constituents stretching from Olney to Damascus as a representative for District 14 in the Maryland General Assembly, a position he’s held since 2011.

“I happen to have found two careers that I love,” Luedtke said. “When it’s the spring and I’m fully in session and I don’t normally teach, I miss teaching. When it’s the fall and I’m teaching, I miss session.”..

https://dbknews.com/2019/09/13/umd-public-policy-state-house-of-delegates-speaker-majority-leader/

Facebook design flaw let thousands of kids join chats with unauthorized users

Facebook’s Messenger Kids app is built around a simple premise: children shouldn’t be able to talk to users who haven’t been approved by their parents. But a design flaw allowed users to sidestep that protection through the group chat system, allowing children to enter group chats with unapproved strangers.

For the past week, Facebook has been quietly closing down those group chats and alerting users, but has not made any public statements disclosing the issue. The alert, which was obtained by The Verge, reads as follows:

Hi [PARENT], 
We found a technical error that allowed [CHILD]’s friend [FRIEND] to create a group chat with [CHILD] and one or more of [FRIEND]’s parent-approved friends. We want you to know that we’ve turned off this group chat and are making sure that group chats like this won’t be allowed in the future. If you have questions about Messenger Kids and online safety, please visit our Help Center and Messenger Kids parental controls. We’d also appreciate your feedback.

Facebook confirmed to The Verge that the message was authentic, and said the alert had been sent to thousands of users in recent days. “We recently notified some parents of Messenger Kids account users about a technical error that we detected affecting a small number of group chats,” a Facebook representative said. “We turned off the affected chats and provided parents with additional resources on Messenger Kids and online safety.”..

https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/22/20706250/facebook-messenger-kids-bug-chat-app-unauthorized-adults

Why Social Media is Not Smart for Middle School Kids

...2. Social media is an entertainment technology. It does not make your child smarter or more prepared for real life or a future job; nor is it necessary for healthy social development. It is pure entertainment attached to a marketing platform extracting bits and pieces of personal information and preferences from your child every time they use it, not to mention hours of their time and attention...

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-wealth/201703/why-social-media-is-not-smart-middle-school-kids#_=_

Pediatricians may start asking parents what they're posting on social media

SEATTLE - The next time your child has a check-up, the pediatrician might have some new questions for you. Don't be surprised if the doctor wants to know what you're posting on Facebook.
The journal Pediatrics just published a commentary offering guidelines for pediatricians to talk to parents about social media...

http://wjla.com/news/nation-world/pediatricians-may-start-asking-parents-what-theyre-posting-on-social-media?utm_content=buffer318d6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Up until this school year, MCPS blocked Facebook,

...Maria Salmeron, a junior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School just outside Washington, D.C., uses Facebook in student organizing as a leader in the Minority Scholars Program, a youth-led group working to increase the academic success of students of color in Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools. Up until this school year, the district blocked Facebook, effectively cutting Salmeron off from a critical mobilization tool. “Facebook is one of the sites that connects you with everyone the most … it’s kept me in contact with people and groups from all over the world,” she said...

 http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/internet-filtering-hurts-kids/479907/

Let Your Facebook Friends Know About Jeff

Recently a blog post detailed the story of US citizen J.S. and Montgomery County Public Schools' decision to deny him a free public education.

Now there is a Facebook group where you can become a fan to show your support for Jeff and spread the word to your friends around the nation and the world about his predicament.

Contrary to the group name - Petition to enroll Jeff in Montgomery County Public School! - there isn't a petition to sign.

Just become a fan of the Facebook group and be sure to use the group page links to 'Invite People to Join' (your friends) and 'Share+' on your profile!

Other Steps You Can Take:

• Write your Board of Education representative
• Write your Montgomery County Council member
• Write your State Representatives

All contact info for your representatives can be found on the Parents' Coalition Contact Your Reps webpage.

And don't forget to become a fan of the Parents' Coalition Facebook page too!