This week, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy published a long overdue report outlining the dangers associated with social media. He warned Americans that these platforms can undermine our mental health—especially for young users. But the solutions offered by Murthy appear misguided. He is recommending age minimums, much like the ones already enacted by state legislatures and regulators. However, this could be counter-intuitive, undoing the small amount of privacy we have left on the internet.
Anonymity is central to how the internet works. Historically, it has allowed users—including young people—to establish connections online and find community. We now rely on secure, anonymous online platforms for people facing homophobia, violence, and discrimination. It is our lifeline to seek help and to learn about sensitive topics like abortion. By implementing age minimums, the internet could no longer be a source of refuge for these communities.
The surgeon general’s advisory calls on platforms to apply and enforce age minimums and lawmakers to develop specialized requirements for teens on social media, such as guards against harmful content. But Murthy does not explain how they would identify a user’s age without violating privacy.
State governments that have already implemented such measures rely on users submitting government IDs or credit card information. This would prevent millions of people without identification from gaining access to crucial online services, and force those who do have IDs to link their legal names to their internet profiles. Additionally, automated age-detection techniques such as machine learning algorithms, facial recognition, and searches of browsing history are extremely invasive and likely to result in wrongful age predictions.
Even with the best intentions, the surgeon general and lawmakers are careening down a path that could risk further damaging the mental health of thousands of young people, as well as destroying the online privacy of countless more. The only way to protect kids from social media is to focus on initiatives and practices that prioritize the safety and wellbeing of all, not just those under 18.
