Ms Alex Cooney:

To go back to the remarks Mark Zuckerberg made at those hearings a couple of weeks ago, he denied in his opening statement that there was a causal link between the consumption of social media and the impact on mental health. He was later, as we know, forced to make that apology and he was strongly encouraged to stand up and do so, as weak as it ended up being. We could demand much greater transparency from these companies about what they know. We do not have all the information on how social media is impacting on the mental health of children and young people. We can see the impacts and the increases in the numbers of children presenting with eating disorders, self-harm or suicidal ideation. We see those increases globally and we know these companies know more than they are telling us.

Whistleblowers such as Frances Haugen have come out and said it but somehow the companies are still getting away with not being transparent about what they know, and that is not acceptable. I have heard of academic institutions starting to explore these issues but, ultimately, it does not conclude and they do not hold all that data. There is a vague commitment to it but not a sincere one. We need to demand that they be much more transparent regarding what they know about the impacts of extended use of not just social media but also gaming platforms, which often fly under the radar and are immensely popular with kids. Obviously, they are great fun but there is a downside there too. We need to demand greater transparency there.