Meta and Google have partnered with children’s organizations such as Sesame Street and the Girl Scouts of the USA to promote healthier and more balanced technology use among children and families. But the initiatives have also drawn criticism and accusations of hypocrisy, with critics arguing that the same tech companies helped design highly addictive digital platforms that make it difficult for users to disconnect, as per Reuters.
Backed by tens of millions of dollars in funding from the tech giants, the programs used colorful magazines, well-known characters, songs, and educational campaigns to encourage moderation and personal responsibility in screen use. According to public statements, the initiatives reached hundreds of thousands of children and parents across the United States.
Alphabet and Meta’s sponsorship of those lessons are also facing criticism that the companies are finding new ways to encourage kids to become dependent on social media, particularly by partnering with brands aimed at children younger than 12. Parents’ advocacy groups said that the partnerships also weaken trust in decades-old institutions families have relied on for advice on raising kids.
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“It’s like Sesame Street teaming up with Philip Morris to teach kids how to smoke cigarettes safely,” said Rose Bronstein, whose 15-year-old son died by suicide after he was bullied online. “How is it any different?”
Critics have also pointed out Meta and Google’s properties generate billions of dollars in advertising revenue from businesses marketing to minors, giving them an incentive to avoid giving unbiased advice about screen usage.
“Their very business model relies on maximum time on device,” said Emily Boddy, co-lead of U.S. Smartphone Free Childhood, a parent group that advocates against phones in schools. “Their guidance or advice can’t be neutral, and we see that it’s not.”
Corporations, ranging from soda companies to the tobacco industry, have long made donations to “trusted institutions” to improve their reputations, said Nora Kenworthy, a public health researcher at the University of Washington Bothell. “It’s very much a reputation management strategy,” she added.
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Documents reviewed by Reuters revealed that Meta’s strategy to partner with outside groups to promote positive messages about technology began several years ago, when criticism of the company became widespread.
In a 2018 draft document, internal user experience researchers considered how to respond to accusations that social media companies were “designing addictive products that can harm well‑being.” Researchers proposed asking external experts to identify Facebook features that could have a negative effect on users over time. Among their list of ideas, they wrote: “Form an alliance where the third party can vouch for the thoroughness and relevance of our approach for targeting the ‘addiction’ claims.” In a statement to Reuters, Meta said it did not act on that idea.
Meta and YouTube, which are owned by Google-parent company Alphabet, have also been among tech companies going through a legal battle over allegations that they’ve made their platforms intentionally addictive. They were found liable in a recent trial, and ordered to pay $6 million in damages.