The worries are only amplified for 13-year-olds, who are about a decade from having the fully developed parts of the brain key to making choices and controlling impulses.
Facebook and Instagram had argued that kids are getting phones steadily younger, lying about their ages, getting apps and need something designed for them.
However, Alex Stamos, a former chief security officer for the social media giant, said that the problems online go beyond software and apps.
“Preteens probably shouldn’t have phones, but parents give them anyway… Young teens shouldn’t be on social media, but parents allow,” Stamos tweeted.
Lawmakers have put forth bills — including Senator Ed Markey, who helped craft COPPA — but their glacial speed has failed to even come close to the frantic speed of technology’s changes on human lives.
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