FALLS CHURCH, VA, USA, May 24, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — On May 29, the National Legal and Policy Center will present a shareholder proposal at the annual meeting of Meta Platforms to address the harms that its social media subsidiaries cause children.
In the wake of numerous studies and reports that highlight the dangers of social media to adolescents – including addictions, exposure to inappropriate content, and heightened risks of exploitation – NLPC’s resolution calls for the company to evaluate raising the minimum age for users on Meta’s social media platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
“The relentless spread of harmful content and the exploitative design of social media platforms necessitate urgent action to safeguard children,” said Luke Perlot, associate director of NLPC’s Corporate Integrity Project. “Our proposal urges Meta to consider the well-being of its youngest users and examine raising the minimum age requirement for platform usage.”
Key points of the proposal include:
• Commissioning a third-party report to assess the risks and benefits of instituting a higher minimum age for users of Meta’s social media products.
• Following the report’s publication, conducting an advisory shareholder vote on whether to raise the minimum age.
NLPC believes that raising the minimum age will help protect young users and limit Meta’s legal and reputational risks.
The initiative follows a stark warning from the U.S. Surgeon General regarding the profound risks posed by social media to children and adolescent’s mental health, compounded by Meta’s research revealing negative impacts on young users, especially girls.
Meta’s platforms have also been implicated in numerous lawsuits for failing to protect young users from cyberbullying, sextortion, and the spread of child sexual abuse material, with the company’s platforms generating 95% of the 29 million child sexual abuse material (CSAM) reports received by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in a single year.
Meta cannot claim its existing safeguards are adequate when the evidence suggests otherwise. CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg deserves his share of the blame after rejecting a proposal brought by his senior leadership team to expand the company’s child safety and well-being workforce. If management refuses to act, then shareholders should apply pressure.
“As shareholders and stewards of a company with immense influence over global communication, it is our duty to ensure that Meta acts responsibly,” added Perlot. “We strongly encourage our fellow shareholders to support Proposal Twelve, which advocates for a safer social media environment for our youth and a more sustainable operational approach for Meta.”
For more information or to schedule an interview with Luke Perlot, contact Dan Rene at 202-329-8357 or drene@nlpc.org.
Please visit http://www.nlpc.org.
Founded in 1991, the National Legal and Policy Center promotes ethics in public life through research, investigation, education, and legal action.
Dan Rene
National Legal and Policy Center
+1 2023298357
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