Do we even need new laws to boost children's safety online?

From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Novosafo.

I want to introduce you to someone who answers the question I posed with a yes and a no.

That someone is Haley Hinkle.

She's Policy Council at the Advocacy Group Fairplay.

Not too long ago, she formulated a case brought to the Federal Trade Commission.

Hinkle says that in the absence of comprehensive federal policy,

there are powers

already afforded to the FTC to impose new children's safety regulations on internet companies.

Hinkle points to section five of the FTC Act, which prohibits, quote, unfair or deceptive acts or

practices in or affecting commerce, close quote. The FTC's policy statement on

unfairness, which is not a new policy statement. It's actually from the 1980s, sets out three

criteria for addressing a business act or practice as unfair. It has to result in substantial consumer injury.

The injury can't be outweighed by any countervailing benefits to consumers or competition,

and the injury cannot be reasonably avoided by consumers. And so that three-part test fits, frankly,

very nicely with scrutiny of some of the design practices that we see big tech using to keep kids online, spending more money, creating more data.

What are those practices? You've mentioned doom scrolling, auto play, things like that, gamification in general.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Time maximizing practices, including endless scroll, auto play, on video games, things like

loot boxes and gambling like mechanisms, quantified popularity metrics.

So things like like counts and follower counts are also a very potent sort of engagement maximizing tool for kids.

And why would the FTC be able to limit those or change those practices specifically as it pertains to children?

...