2026-10-08T05:00:01-0400 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
2026年10月8日 / 美国东部时间上午5:00 / KFF健康新闻
得克萨斯州联邦参议院候选人的差异可谓天差地别：詹姆斯·塔拉利科曾是神学院学生，后成为民主党州议员，发言时语调沉稳，谈及爱与共情；而肯·帕克斯顿则是好斗的共和党州总检察长，他曾表示绝不妥协。
不过他们有一个共同的敌人。两人都反对社交媒体对儿童心理健康造成的影响。未置可否的塔拉利科支持出台一项禁止16岁以下儿童使用社交媒体的法案，同时谴责“每时每刻都在分裂我们的掠夺性算法”。作为州议员，他还联合发起了一项针对深度色情换脸视频的法案——这类由人工智能制作或篡改的个人数字仿制品，常被用于社交媒体上的骚扰行为。
帕克斯顿一直在起诉大型科技公司，指控这些公司诱使青少年沉迷其应用程序，或未限制儿童观看敏感视频。帕克斯顿竞选团队的发言人麦迪逊·瑟西在给KFF健康新闻的一份声明中表示：“若当选联邦参议员，他将继续以 proven 的记录推进保护儿童上网安全、强化父母权利，并在大型科技公司违法时追究其责任的政策。”
青少年心理健康状况持续恶化。尽管研究人员仍在探寻问题根源，但两党议员打击社交媒体公司的呼声日益高涨。多家大型科技公司正面临诉讼、调查，且很快可能迎来监管约束，核心原因之一便是这些平台可能损害儿童心理健康。
科技企业已经感受到压力。8月下旬，社交媒体巨头元宇宙（Meta）与48个州、哥伦比亚特区以及三个领地组成的联盟达成170亿美元的和解协议，并承诺调整其政策和设置以保护儿童。元宇宙随即在各大报纸刊登广告，敦促竞争对手也采取类似的防护措施。儿童健康倡导者希望更进一步，推动联邦立法。
事实上，今年至少有35名联邦参议院候选人发起了限制社交媒体的法案、启动调查，或公开谴责那些他们认为利用青少年和儿童的大型科技公司。
“我们保护的是我们的孩子，而非那些靠他们的网络存在牟利的人，”伊利诺伊州民主党副州长、联邦参议院候选人朱莉安娜·斯特拉顿在6月发帖称，同时大力宣传该州的相关立法。
美国国会正愈发接近通过《儿童网络安全法案》，这是领先的社交媒体监管法案。该法案将要求社交媒体公司实施各类防护措施，例如限制用户与未成年人的沟通能力。此前一项类似法案版本在参议院获得了91票赞成票。总统之子小唐纳德·特朗普曾在2024年12月发推文称，该法案需“尽快”通过。
在联邦监管新规推进的势头下，大型科技公司正在游说支持它们倾向的政策。元宇宙发言人告诉KFF健康新闻，苹果公司支持该法案；而拥有Facebook和Instagram的元宇宙则斥资1000万美元投放电视广告，宣传其青少年账户模式。
“任何青少年安全立法都必须让父母掌握主导权——全面的社交媒体禁令做不到这一点，”元宇宙发言人埃德·帕特森表示，他认为全面禁令会迫使青少年转向更不安全的平台。“我们支持赋予父母权力、而非政府，由父母批准青少年可以从应用商店下载哪些应用的立法。”
元宇宙和其他行业团体正积极游说，试图塑造社交媒体乃至整个科技行业的监管规则。据《华尔街日报》报道，元宇宙还向与特朗普总统结盟的竞选非营利组织“守护美国伟大”捐赠了约1000万美元。根据KFF健康新闻对参议院游说数据库的搜索，已有约70家企业、行业协会、非营利组织和其他团体就该法案游说参议员。
据《华盛顿邮报》报道，特朗普政府试图将网络安全法案与其人工智能议程的其他部分绑定，其中包括一项旨在加大州级监管人工智能难度的立法。白宫未置可否。
公众对大型科技公司的看法正在恶化。皮尤研究中心2024年的调查显示，78%的美国人认为科技公司在政治中拥有过大影响力，64%的人认为社交媒体对国家产生了 mostly 负面的影响。
一场涵盖公共卫生机构、家长团体、各州总检察长和 whistleblowers 的广泛运动呼吁加强监管，而科技行业部分势力则斥巨资游说和营销进行反击。
“整个行业及其所有游说资金都在行动，”饮食失调联盟首席政策官艾莉森·艾维说道。许多专家认为，社交媒体通过向儿童展示不切实际的瘦体型同龄人形象，并推送鼓励极端节食的内容，助长了饮食失调问题。“这场较量根本谈不上公平，”艾维谈及游说势力时表示，“你怎么可能每天都与之抗衡？”
在网络中成长，在现实中迷失
根据美国疾病控制与预防中心2025年的数据，三分之一的青少年持续感到悲伤或绝望——比十年前高出约10%。但该机构追踪的其他指标显示情况有所改善，因此许多研究人员质疑社交媒体是否是问题的根源。
“相关研究尚不成熟且复杂，”圣路易斯华盛顿大学公共卫生学院院长桑德罗·加莱亚说道，他此前曾主持美国国家科学院关于社交媒体对儿童心理健康影响的报告。学术界和研究人员为这场危机提出了多种成因，例如经济变化、社交联系减少、枪支获取便利以及新冠疫情。
尽管存在不确定性，公共卫生机构大多已联合起来反对社交媒体。9月初，美国卫生与公众服务部举办了一场三小时的活动，建议家长和孩子远离屏幕，回归现实生活。这只是美国卫生局局长办公室（在拜登和特朗普两届政府任内）就此类技术发出的一系列警告中的最新一次。
“越来越多证据表明，儿童不受监管地使用社交媒体存在真实且潜在的危险，”特朗普政府首任卫生局局长杰罗姆·亚当斯告诉KFF健康新闻。他表示，这些危险包括“焦虑、抑郁、睡眠问题和发育问题等严重风险。在成长关键阶段花费过多时间在这些平台上的儿童，会面临实实在在的挑战。”
对社交媒体的政策反对浪潮已蔓延至全球。英国和澳大利亚最近出台了禁止16岁以下儿童使用社交媒体的法案。欧盟则威胁将对元宇宙处以最高达其营收6%的罚款，原因是其推出的“成瘾性设计”违反了欧盟法规。
除了与元宇宙达成的170亿美元和解协议，美国其他针对社交媒体的诉讼还涉及Snap旗下的Snapchat，以及由中美企业财团所有的短视频应用TikTok。肯塔基州一个学区从社交媒体公司获得了2700万美元的和解金；包括洛杉矶在内的1000多个学区也提起了集体诉讼，指控这些平台对青少年造成成瘾性影响等诸多危害。
包括帕克斯顿在内的各州总检察长联盟已起诉大型科技公司，在部分案件中就心理健康伤害和成瘾指控达成了和解。8月初，新墨西哥州一家法院认定元宇宙是“当前心理健康危机的重要促成因素”，责令其支付近9.5亿美元的赔偿金。这一判决先于此次巨额和解协议达成。
多家企业也受到政府诉讼和民事索赔的影响。在线游戏公司Roblox披露，2026年上半年已支付9100万美元的法律和解金，其中包括“与青少年相关的消费者保护和数字安全事务”的开支。视频托管网站YouTube今年也解决了多起与青少年相关的案件。
问责大型科技公司
不过国会的推动动作最为引人注目。国会委员会曾多次传唤科技公司高管——有时态度温和，但更多时候是斥责他们。
伴随立法推进的还有持续进行的调查，其中许多调查收集了 whistleblowers 的证词。2025年，曾任职联合国外交官、后加入元宇宙的莎拉·温-威廉姆斯在参议院作证，披露了该公司的相关记录。
当被问及公司是否掩盖或否认其已知的危害时，她表示：“Facebook曾针对13至17岁的青少年。它能够识别出这些青少年何时感到无价值、无助或失败，并会将这些信息分享给广告商。”
例如，温-威廉姆斯告诉议员们：“如果一个13岁的女孩删除了一张自拍，这正是向她推销美容产品的绝佳时机。”
元宇宙一直被指控试图隐瞒相关内部研究，包括对政府隐瞒。2025年至2026年的一系列裁决中，华盛顿特区的一名法官发现，该公司律师指示员工“移除部分研究内容，这些研究显示元宇宙了解青少年用户的发育脆弱性，因为这些研究可能被政府执法机构用于调查元宇宙”。但元宇宙表示，其已批准了36项与年轻人相关的社会问题研究，并已“采取切实措施保护青少年上网安全”，例如推出青少年账户，其设置可由父母管控。
不过，言论和隐私保护给监管推进带来了复杂性。美国公民自由联盟高级政策顾问珍娜·莱文托夫表示，要让立法发挥作用，“平台需要知道谁是儿童，谁不是”。她表示，仅仅要求用户自行申报是不够的。“我知道我小时候总是谎报年龄，只为了能注册账号。”
但对社交媒体施加限制的势头仍在继续。随着时间推移，艾维表示，“我们掌握了所有这些确凿证据。这会改变人们的看法。”
KFF健康新闻是一家专注健康问题深度报道的全国性新闻机构，也是KFF的核心运营项目之一——KFF是独立的健康政策研究、民调与新闻资讯来源。
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=5xYOtUfCUiU&ra=m&fbclid=PAZnRzaAUEXhFwZG9mAmZkaWQWUNlt3h2e9waGeFtQcaQWWNVLbMsveWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp0I37rTxvDnW2r_1Bv8m-M38VVDAbeAAcxvIGjwsdaVV9mYbSCL8LIZgGelN_aem_oWicrqwY9oP97MUxdruL1Q
Fears about kids’ online safety unite Democrats and Republicans
2026-10-08T05:00:01-0400 / CBS News
October 8, 2026 / 5:00 AM EDT / KFF Health News
The U.S. Senate candidates in Texas could hardly be more different: James Talarico, a former seminarian turned Democratic state lawmaker who speaks in calm cadences about love and empathy, and Ken Paxton, the pugnacious Republican state attorney general who speaks about a refusal to compromise.
They share an enemy, though. They dislike social media’s effects on children’s mental health. Talarico, who did not respond to a request for comment, has endorsed a social media ban for kids under 16, while denouncing “predatory algorithms that divide us on an hourly, daily basis.” As a legislator, he co-authored a bill targeting explicit deepfakes — digital imitations of individuals that are often made or manipulated by artificial intelligence and used for harassment on social media.
Paxton has been suing Big Tech, alleging the companies hook youth on their apps or don’t restrict sensitive videos from being viewed by kids. “When elected to the U.S. Senate, he will continue his proven record of advancing policies that protect children online, strengthen parental rights, and hold Big Tech accountable when it breaks the law,” Paxton campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy said in a statement to KFF Health News.
Youth mental health is in decline. Even as researchers explore what’s causing the problem, momentum is gathering among policymakers from both parties to crack down on social media companies. Several major companies are being sued, investigated, and, soon, potentially regulated. That they may be harming kids’ mental health is a key reason.
Companies are starting to feel the bite. In late August, the social media conglomerate Meta reached a $17 billion settlement with a coalition of 48 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories and promised to change its policies and settings to protect children. Meta immediately took out advertisements in major newspapers, pressuring its competitors to adopt similar guardrails. Children’s health advocates want to go further, with federal legislation.
Indeed, at least 35 nominees for the U.S. Senate this year have sponsored bills to curb social media, initiated investigations, or publicly lambasted Big Tech firms that, in their telling, have exploited teens and kids.
“We’re protecting our children, not those profiting off their online presence,” Juliana Stratton, the Democratic lieutenant governor and Senate candidate in Illinois, posted in June, trumpeting state legislation.
Congress is edging closer to passing the Kids Online Safety Act, the vanguard social media regulation bill. The bill would require social media companies to implement various safeguards, such as limiting users’ ability to communicate with minors. One attempt to pass a version of the bill earned 91 yes votes in the Senate. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, tweeted in December 2024 that the bill needed to be passed “ASAP.”
Amid the momentum toward new federal regulations, Big Tech companies are lobbying for their preferred policy. Apple supports the bill, a spokesperson told KFF Health News, while Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has spent $10 million on television advertising touting its teen accounts.
“Any youth safety legislation must put parents in the driver’s seat — blanket social media bans do not do that,” said Meta spokesperson Ed Patterson, who argued blanket bans push youths onto less safe platforms. “We support legislation that empowers parents — not the government — to approve the apps their teens can download from the App Store.”
Meta and other industry groups are scrambling to shape regulations for social media, and tech in general. The Wall Street Journal reported Meta also gave some $10 million to a President Trump-aligned campaign nonprofit, Securing American Greatness. Based on a KFF Health News search of the Senate’s lobbying database, about 70 corporations, trade groups, nonprofits, and other groups have been lobbying senators about the bill.
According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration has tried to tie the online safety bill to other parts of its AI agenda, which includes legislation that would make it harder to regulate the technology at the state level. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
The public’s views of major tech firms are souring. In 2024, the Pew Research Center found 78% of Americans said tech companies had too much influence in politics, while 64% said social media had a mostly negative effect on the country.
A widespread movement encompassing much of the public health establishment, parents’ groups, attorneys general, and whistleblowers is calling for greater regulation, as parts of the tech industry fight back by spending big on lobbying and marketing.
“You have the whole industry and all their lobbying dollars,” said Allison Ivie, chief policy officer at the Eating Disorders Coalition. Many experts believe that social media, by showing kids images of unrealistically thin peers and by amplifying content encouraging extreme diets, helps fuel eating disorders. “It’s not a balanced fight by any means,” Ivie said of the lobbying muscle. “How do you compete against that on any given day?”
Growing up online, breaking down offline
According to 2025 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a third of youth have persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness — about 10% more than a decade earlier. But many researchers question whether social media is causing the trouble. (Other metrics tracked by the agency show improvement.)
“The science is crude and messy,” said Sandro Galea, dean of public health at Washington University in St. Louis, who previously chaired a National Academy of Sciences report on the effects of social media on kids’ mental health. Academics and researchers have proposed a wide variety of causes for the crisis, like changes in the economy, decreasing social connections, access to firearms, and the pandemic.
Despite the uncertainty, much of the public health establishment is massing against social media. In early September, the Department of Health and Human Services hosted a three-hour event advising parents and children to live life off-screen. It’s only the latest in a series of warnings from the U.S. surgeon general’s office — under both the Biden and Trump administrations — about these technologies.
“The evidence keeps building on the real and potential dangers of unregulated access for children,” Jerome Adams, Mr. Trump’s first surgeon general, told KFF Health News. These include, he said, “serious risks like higher rates of anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and developmental concerns. Kids spending too much time on these platforms face real challenges during key stages of growth.”
The policy backlash against social media has extended worldwide. The United Kingdom and Australia recently banned social media for kids under 16. The European Union has threatened Meta with a potential fine, up to 6% of revenue, for pushing “addictive designs” in a breach of the confederation’s regulations.
Besides the $17 billion settlement with Meta, other lawsuits in the United States have targeted Snapchat, owned by Snap, and TikTok, a short-video app owned by a consortium of American and Chinese companies. A school district in Kentucky won a $27 million settlement from social media companies; 1,000 more districts, including in Los Angeles, have filed their own class-action suits, citing alleged addictive effects on youth, among other harms.
Coalitions of state attorneys general, including Paxton, have sued Big Tech companies, in some cases winning settlements related to allegations of mental health harm and addiction. In early August, Meta was ordered to pay nearly $950 million after a New Mexico state court found it to be a “significant contributing factor to the current mental health crisis.” This preceded the multibillion-dollar settlement.
And a broad base of companies are feeling effects from the government and civil suits. The online gaming company Roblox disclosed paying $91 million in legal settlements, including expenses for “youth-related consumer protection and digital safety matters,” in the first half of 2026. YouTube, the video hosting website, itself settled multiple youth-related cases this year.
Taking Big Tech to task
Yet the push in Congress has garnered much of the attention. Congressional committees on occasion have summoned tech company executives — sometimes with a friendly ear, but more often to berate them.
Accompanying the push for legislation are ongoing investigations, many of which collect testimony from whistleblowers. In 2025, Sarah Wynn-Williams — a former United Nations diplomat who later joined Meta — testified before the Senate about the company’s record.
Asked about allegations the company covered up or denied its knowledge of harms, she said: “Facebook was targeting 13- to 17-year-olds. It could identify when they were feeling worthless or helpless or like a failure, and they would take that information and share it with advertisers.”
For example, Wynn-Williams told lawmakers, “if a 13-year-old girl would delete a selfie, that’s a really good time to try and sell her a beauty product.”
Meta has been dogged by claims it has attempted to hide relevant internal research, including from the government. In a series of rulings in 2025 and 2026, a judge in Washington, D.C., found the company’s lawyers directed employees to “remove portions of research showing Meta’s knowledge of teen users’ developmental vulnerability because the research could be used by government enforcers investigating Meta.” But Meta says it has approved three dozen studies on social issues related to young people, and that they have “made real changes to protect teens online,” like creating teen accounts, whose settings parents can control.
Complicating any regulatory push, though, are protections for speech and privacy. For the legislation to work, said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, “the platforms are going to want to know who is a kid and who isn’t.” Simply asking users will not be enough, she said. “I know when I was a kid, I always said I was older than I was to try to create accounts.”
But the momentum for constraints continues. Over time, Ivie said, “we get all this damning evidence. It shifts perspectives.”
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=5xYOtUfCUiU&ra=m&fbclid=PAZnRzaAUEXhFwZG9mAmZkaWQWUNlt3h2e9waGeFtQcaQWWNVLbMsveWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp0I37rTxvDnW2r_1Bv8m-M38VVDAbeAAcxvIGjwsdaVV9mYbSCL8LIZgGelN_aem_oWicrqwY9oP97MUxdruL1Q