Google, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, and other tech giants are engaged in a fierce lobbying battle against two New York bills aimed at protecting children online, with spending expected to surpass$ 1 million.
According to The New York Post, new people disclosures reveal that a group of Big Tech companies, advocacy organizations, and businesses from other industries have spent$ 823, 235 lobbying Albany lawmakers since the middle of March. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act and the New York Child Data Protection Act are two well-known costs that are the focus of the lobbying work.
By mandating user definition linear feeds for people 18 or younger without parental consent, the SAFE Act aims to combat addicted techniques used by social media apps. Additionally, it may enable parents to impose time limits on in-app and social media messages. Under the Child Data Protection Act, applications would be unable to collect or use user under 18 without their consent, while children under 13 would require a parent’s approval.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 01: in their welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC Apex on October 1, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. ( Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC )
Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok Inc., speaks during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. The New Economy Forum is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the family firm of Bloomberg News. Photographer: Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Although it’s difficult to determine exactly how much money Big Tech spent to derail the legislation, the next round of disclosures are expected to be more than$ 1 million. Danny Weiss, key campaigning officer at Common Sense Media, which supports the charges, stated,” They are spending a lot of money to resist these costs, as if they pose an existential risk to New York”. He continued,” This could be regarded as traditional” because the bills have a relatively small impact on the state in comparison to other problems that receive a lot of lobbyist attention.”
Both costs have received Democratic Governor of New York’s support. Letitia James, the state attorney general, and Kathy Hochul. During a January press event, Hochul described social media as” a silent killer of our children’s technology”. The state congress is even expected to vote on the expenses in the near future, and they are expected to move through commission in the state legislature as soon as this year, followed by a floor vote. The expenses have received more than 25 different organizations ‘ endorsement, including Mothers Against Media Addiction and the New York State United Teachers Union.
Tech firms have hit back, citing fears that the legislation would restrict freedom of speech, website privacy for teens, limit internet access for migrants and other “underserved” communities, and largely delete algorithms that help to break down on hate speech.
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes ( D), who co- sponsors the bills, said opponents have funded an aggressive “whisper campaign” in Albany to delay or defeat the legislation. ” It certainly makes the job a lot harder, because these companies, with limitless resources, are able to hire armies of lobbyists who just camp out in the capital all day”, Gounardes said. Legislators come and go, and they are” whispering in everyone’s ears.”
The most money was spent lobbying on the tech bills and other issues on the state agenda at Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Instead of a state-by-state solution, a Meta spokesperson said the company supports federal legislation that would require app stores to obtain parents ‘ consent when children under the age of 16 download apps. Google and TikTok are other top spenders, with TikTok and Google suing the government to stop a proposed Chinese-led divestment bill due to concerns about national security.
Read more at , the New York Post here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News, covering issues involving online censorship and free speech.
