Where this was said
Global Teen Social Media Bans: Society Saying No
At 52:20 · chapter starts 51:20
Canada has proposed banning under-16s from social media, the UK is weighing a similar measure, and Australia's existing ban is being undermined by workarounds — 70% of teens still get on. Kara dismisses the 'teens will find a way' argument as a false standard: we don't abandon drunk-driving laws because people still drink. The societal signal — this is harmful and we say so — is the point, analogous to cigarette warnings. Scott goes further and more alarmed: social media went mobile in 2013 and began wiring adolescent brains during puberty for constant visual stimulation. He sees it creating a new species of asocial, asexual young men, with posture literally changing. Europe is leading where the US cannot. Then comes the evidence that changes the frame entirely: [1] — Scott Galloway "Big Tech claimed for years it was technically impossible to detect and remove underage users. Then Australia passed a law, and platforms de…" 54:15 when Australia legislated, platforms deactivated nearly 5 million teen accounts in one month. The technology to detect underage users existed the whole time. Big Tech withheld it from Americans because Congress — under pressure from tech lobbying — refused to require it. The Kids Online Safety Act passed the Senate 91–3 and was killed by House GOP leadership. COPPA, from 1998, remains the last federal law on child online safety. Kara closes by teasing The Social Reckoning trailer — Aaron Sorkin's follow-up to The Social Network, with Jeremy Strong as Zuckerberg — as the cultural moment that will reframe Zuckerberg as villain.
Social media went mobile in 2013 and began wiring a generation's brains during puberty for constant stimulation. Scott Galloway argues this is now creating a new species of asocial, asexual males, with posture literally changing. Europe is leading on regulation — it took 30 years to regulate tobacco and 20 for opioids; social media is on pace to hit that 20-year mark.
Big Tech claimed for years it was technically impossible to detect and remove underage users. Then Australia passed a law, and platforms deleted nearly 5 million teen accounts in one month. The capability existed the whole time — it was just being withheld from Americans because Congress refused to require it.
After Australia passed its social media age-restriction law, platforms deactivated nearly 5 million teen accounts in just one month, disproving claims that age detection is impossible.
The Kids Online Safety Act cleared the US Senate 91 to 3 — about as bipartisan as it gets. Then House GOP leadership refused to hold a floor vote, killing it. The last federal law protecting kids online was COPPA in 1998. Meanwhile Big Tech fights tooth and nail against requirements to prevent content promoting suicide, eating disorders, and sexual exploitation of minors.
The Kids Online Safety Act passed the US Senate 91 to 3 but died when House GOP leadership refused to bring it to a floor vote.
The last federal law protecting children online, COPPA, was passed in 1998 — 28 years ago — leaving a massive regulatory gap in the social media era.
