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Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA).
- DSA was enacted last year by EU that makes digital companies liable for disinformation, shopping scams, child abuse and other online harms.
Reasons for the investigation against Meta platforms
- Concerns regarding the platform's age-verification tools.
- Users are meant to be at least 13 years old to use Facebook or Instagram.
- Could exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of children and stimulate addictive behavior.
- Could reinforce children to watch increasingly disturbing content (Rabbit hole effect).
Social media’s Impact on children
- Cyberbullying and Online Harassment: that can lead to emotional distress, anxiety, and even depression.
- Phones replacing child cuddling: cuddling releases the ‘Bonding hormone Oxytocin’ which helps children manage stress.
- Excessive screen time: can lead to reduced physical activity, poor sleep patterns, and other health-related issues like obesity, diabetes, etc.
- Distorted sense of reality: that leads to difficulty in children in deciding what is normal and what is not normal.
- Enhancing creativity: children express their creativity, share their ideas, and showcase their talents through various mediums such as art, writing, or video content on social media.
Indian Government initiative to protect children online
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