DENVER, Colo. — Families, advocates, and lawmakers held a press conference Tuesday calling for urgent action to hold tech platforms accountable for keeping kids safe online.
Watch Jessica's story in the video player below:
Standing in front of the names of children who have died because of the harms of social media, the group made their plea to Colorado lawmakers—take action and pass the Social Media Bill Governor Jared Polis vetoed in May.
“When I hear from people that they know young people who have easier access to guns or fentanyl than a job, we got to do something about it. When we hear young people are struggling because they're feeling disconnected and lonely. We've got to do something about it, and in Colorado, we are doing something about it,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said.
The danger for young people—guns and drugs being sold through social media platforms, concerning conversations AI Chatbots are having with kids, and the role these platforms play in teen suicide.
Matt Riviere is among those demanding change. His two sons died from fentanyl poisoning after buying what they thought was oxycodone on Snapchat. He says more needs to be done to hold social media companies accountable.
“We need tough legislation to be reintroduced next year to really protect our kids and have those guardrails in place, financial things that these companies have to pay-that's one mechanism, but it's just not enough to protect our children,” Riviere said.
Blue Rising, a Colorado nonprofit that advocates for young people, hosted the press conference at CSU Spur with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
Weiser, who is running for governor, led the charge in a $17 billion settlement with Meta in August that required the company to implement a series of safety features on Instagram and Facebook.
Colorado has implemented some protections for kids online. In May, Denver7’s Jessica Porter spoke to parents and Blue Rising leadership about the AI Chatbot bill, which later became law. While the bill creates some protection for how AI Chatbots interact with children, advocates felt it didn’t go far enough to hold tech companies accountable.
Politics
Colorado parents say the AI chatbot bill doesn't do enough to protect children
The press conference Tuesday preceded a symposium called “Protecting Kids in the Age of Big Tech,” where national leaders, experts, and advocates discussed how rapidly evolving technology affects our youth.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.