Social Media Executives Deny Platform Addiction Claims at UK Parliament Hearing

Executives from three social media companies have denied their platforms are inherently addictive to children and young people, in a combative appearance before MPs in Westminster. Representatives from Meta, Roblox and TikTok faced robust questioning from the cross-party education select committee about the impact of screen time and social media on children. A fourth executive, from Snapchat, had been due to attend Tuesday's hearing but was said to have cancelled "at quite short notice", drawing a sharp rebuke from the committee chair, Helen Hayes. She warned Snapchat the committee would use its powers to summon a witness if they did not cooperate and agree to appear at a meeting next week. A Snapchat spokesperson said later: "Due to unforeseen circumstances we were unable to attend today's meeting. As we've been discussing directly with parliamentary authorities, we are fully committed and engaged in this process and look forward to a productive discussion next week." The three executives who gave evidence insisted their platforms had not been designed to be addictive, and said there was no evidence they were "addictive by nature". They also told MPs they thought a social media ban for under-16s, favoured by many parents, would be unenforceable. The government is consulting on whether the UK should follow in Australia's footsteps by making it illegal for under-16s to have access to many social media sites, among other potential restrictions. Rebecca Stimson, Meta's UK director of public policy, said the Australian experience had shown a ban was not enforceable or effective. "We don't think it's something that's actually possible in practice," she said. Early research has shown that most children in Australia are still using social media despite the ban. The executives' appearance in Westminster followed a court case in Los Angeles last month in which Meta and YouTube were found liable for deliberately designing addictive products that hooked a young user and led to her being harmed. Both platforms have announced their intention to appeal. Stimson told MPs: "We don't design Instagram or Facebook to be addictive." But added: "We do recognise there can be risks of people misusing the platform and poor behaviours." In those cases tools have been built to restrict teens' activities and enhance parents' capacity to intervene, she said. Laura Higgins, senior director of community safety and civility at Roblox, said: "There's no evidence directly that says games are addictive by nature. Anything that is consumed excessively is harmful, so we would discourage that." Alistair Law, TikTok's director of public policy for Northern Europe, said: "I don't think there's been a clinical finding of addictiveness on this. That does not mean we don't recognise a responsibility to drive healthy use." Hayes, who earlier in the hearing questioned Law about a police investigation into children on TikTok being groomed into sexual activity, said parents would find the executives' denial that social media is addictive lacking in credibility. The Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden, a member of the committee, said after the hearing: "It is absolutely galling for social media giants to say their platforms are not addictive. "Parents, experts, whistleblowers, even users, are all aware of the dangers posed by social media. The platforms are the only ones still in denial, spouting claims which have zero credibility. "Today's session reaffirmed that we cannot wait for platforms to do the right thing. The government must step in and adopt the Liberal Democrat proposal to introduce a film-style age rating for social media, which protects children from harm while letting them experience the best bits of the online world."