Tech expert warns social media is 'rewiring brains' of children

ASHLEY: IT REALLY IS. MANY PARENTS FEEL THE SAME WAY. KELLY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. KARA FREDERICK, DIRECTOR OF THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION TECH POLICY CENTER, JOINS ME NOW. I GUESS LET'S BEGIN WHETHER THESE NEW FEATURES ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING TO HELP CHILDREN'S SAFETY? THEY SOUND GOOD, BUT IN REALITY I'M NOT SURE HOW EFFECTIVE. HOW ABOUT YOU? >> YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT. THIS IS THE BARE MINIMUM. I WAS ASSESSING

LESS THAN FOUR BILLS, PIECES OF LEGISLATION, HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED OR REINTRODUCED IN THE 118TH CONGRESS THAT ARE AIMED AT HOLDING TECH COMPANIES ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO CHILDREN. I THINK THEY'RE RUNNING SCARED, BUT THIS IS BARE MINIMUM THAT THEY CAN POSSIBLY CONDUCT. ASHLEY: YOU KNOW, IT MAKES ME LAUGH, YOU GET A NUDGE TO BE TAKE A BREAK. WHAT TEEN IS GOING TO TO PAY ANY

ATTENTION TO THAT? THEY'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THEIR PARENTS TO PUT THE PHONE DOWN, SO THEY'RE NOT GOING TO PAY ATTENTION TO A NUDGE. AS KELLY POINTED OUT IN THAT REPORT, IT'S A BALANCE BETWEEN SAFETY AND AUTONOMY, AND I'M NOT SURE HOW YOU DO THAT. >> YEAH. 9 AND THE TECH COMPANIES, THEY HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO DO THIS. THEY HAVE THINGS LIKE PRIVACY-PRESERVING TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN

WORK TOWARDS SOME OF THESE TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS AS WELL. THEY DO HAVE THE CAPABILITIES. I THINK PROBLEM HERE IS THAT THE VERDICT IS IN. THIS IS PARTICULARLY RICH IN COMING FROM META WHO HAS ITS OWN STUDIES REVEAL, ITS OWN INTERNAL RESEARCH THAT SAYS THINGS LIKE 6% OF AMERICAN TEENS WHO CONSIDERED SUICIDE TRACE THAT IDEATION DIRECTLY BACK9 OTT PLATFORM. YOU HAVE A UNC STUDY COME OUT RECENTLY THAT

BASICALLY SAID SOCIAL MEDIA IS REWIRING THE BRAINS OF CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 12 YEARS OLD. SO THE COMPANIES KNOW HOW TO CONFRONT THIS. IT'S NOT AN EASY TAX, BUT THEY CAN DO IT YET THEY ARE NOT. IN FACT, THEY'RE PUSHING FULL STEAM AHEAD TO DESIGN TEAMS AND PRODUCTS THAT ATTACH YOUNGER AND YOUNGER -- ATTRACT YOUNGER AND YOUNGER USERS. THIS IS A PROBLEM. THEY'RE FLYING IN THE

FACE OF ALL OF THESE LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS, BUT I THINK THEY KNOW THAT THEIR TIME IS GETTING SHORT. ASHLEY: ALL RIGHT, LET'S CHANGE SUBJECTS QUICKLY. A REPORT BY THE HOUSE WEAPONIZATION SUBCOMMITTEE FOUND THAT THE ADD ORS MANAGERS COLLUDED WITH BIG TECH -- ADMINISTRATION COLLUDED WITH BIG TECH TO CENSOR AMERICANS DIRECTLY AHEAD OF THE 2020 THE ELECTION AND DURING THE 2022 THE MIDTERMS. I MEAN, ARE WE SURPRISED?

PROBABLY NOT. BUT WILL ANYTHING COME OF THIS, DO YOU THINK? >> YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOTTEN AWAY WITH THIS AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. WE KNEW THAT THESE FACTS WERE OUT IN THE OPEN WHEN THE STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF MISSOURI AND LOUISIANA BROUGHT THE CASE INITIALLY. THEY HAD THE FACTS. YOU HAVE PEOPLE LIKE TWITTER PERSONALITIES ALEX BERENSON SAYING HE WAS DIRECTLY CENSORED, THE HAS HAPPENED AT THE

STATE LEVEL WITH THE RELEASE OF THE TWITTER FILES. WE KNOW THAT THIS IS TRUE. ALMOST 100 FBI AGENTS DESIGN THERE TO POLICE THE SPEECH OF AMERICANS. WE KNOW THAT THIS IS HAPPENING, THEY HAVEN'T IS FACED ANY CONSEQUENCES YET. AGAIN, I THINK SOME OF PIECES OF LEGISLATION IN CONGRESS RIGHT NOW, THE COLLUDE ACT BY SENATOR SCHMITT WHO WAS THE A.G. OF MISSOURI, THOSE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT. SO

TECH COMPANIES, THEY SHOULD BE ON NOTICE BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, NOTHING'S HAPPENED TO THEM, NOTHING'S HAPPENED TO JOE BIDEN AND THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN FOR THIS COLLUSION -- ASHLEY: RIGHT. >> I THINK IT'S TIME TO CHANGE, HOWEVER. LET'S GET SOME ENERGY ON THE HILL BEHIND I. ASHLEY: THAT'S A GREAT PLACE