Parents are furious that YouTube and TikTok are flooding kids’ social
media feeds with toxic, harmful videos.

Let’s join together and demand the UK and other governments take action to
keep kids safe online.

[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 

   
John,

Netflix’s Adolescence show has sparked a wave of anger over the
devastating impact social media platforms can have on kids.

Hundreds of vulnerable teens, like the show’s star, Jamie, are being
pushed down extremist rabbit holes online, thanks to powerful algorithms
that promote posts based on a user’s profile. YouTube and TikTok promote
toxic “manosphere” influencers to millions of young people - and they make
massive profits doing so.

But there’s a growing movement of parents and kids who are fighting to
reclaim childhood from Big Tech, and it’s just been given a massive boost
by the show that everyone is talking about. If we all join in, we can use
this moment to ramp up the pressure and demand the UK and other
governments turn off profile-based recommender systems.

[ [link removed] ]Tell the UK and other governments: Turn off toxic algorithms and
protect kids online.

YouTube and TikTok say they’ve introduced parental controls to block
harmful content. But these controls are confusing and kids can easily
override them. The real solutions, like turning off powerful recommender
systems, would cut into Big Tech’s profits and they resist them at every
turn. This is why governments must act—which is where we come in.

The fact is these platforms are flooded with incel-related and
misogynistic posts. Ekō researchers posing as a 13-year-old joining TikTok
for the first time, exposed how the platform targeted them with content
promoting suicide and violence within 10 minutes of logging on.

Big Tech has shown time and again that it’s unable to self-regulate, which
is why governments must step in. We know that public pressure works - when
this incredible community came together to oppose Meta’s terrible idea of
‘Instagram for Kids’, Meta shelved it. Now let’s do it again.

[ [link removed] ]Tell the UK and other governments: Turn off toxic algorithms and
protect kids online.



[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 



Thanks for all that you do,
Vicky, Eoin and the team at Ekō


More information:

[ [link removed] ]SAFER SCROLLING How algorithms popularise and gamify online hate and
misogyny for young people
University College London. February, 2024

[ [link removed] ]New Safer Phones Bill Targets Addictive Social Media Algorithms
DIGITnews. 24 October 2024
 
[ [link removed] ]‘Adolescence’ will be shown in schools across the UK to spark
conversations on social media harm
Associated Press, 31 March 2025
 
[ [link removed] ]Suicide, Incels, and Drugs: How TikTok’s deadly algorithm harms kids
Ekō, March 2023

 

 

Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Please help keep Ekō strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]