United States – October 19, 2026 -- Parents should be able to install third-party safety software on every social media platform and device operating system, argues Marc Berkman, CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety, after two months of damaging press about children's exposure to harmful content.
United States – October 19, 2026 -- Parents and school administrators are being urged to take three steps against social media-related school violence threats after a so-called "National Day of School Violence" spread online this week.
The threats reportedly started on TikTok, though that has not been definitively established. Posts about them spread quickly, worrying families across the country and forcing some schools to close for the day. The Organization for Social Media Safety says it worked through the week to make sure schools were aware and took precautions. The day passed without incident.
United States – October 19, 2026 -- Parents can cut the risk of teen drug poisoning by setting app permissions, locking down privacy settings and talking openly about fentanyl, according to the Organization for Social Media Safety. The group says its own testing found it takes about three minutes to connect with a drug dealer on social media and receive a "menu" of drugs for sale.
Sammy Chapman was an A student whose parents, Sam and Laura, worked to keep him away from dangerous people and places. A dealer contacted him on Snapchat and delivered drugs to his home. Sammy snuck out after his parents went to sleep and met the dealer, who gave him a lethal dose of fentanyl. He believed he had bought Xanax. The organization says thousands of children died this past year from drugs bought through social media.
Unspecified location – October 19, 2026 -- Parents who link to their child through Snapchat's new Family Center can see the child's friend list and who they messaged in the past seven days, but the Organization for Social Media Safety says the tool will not meaningfully improve child safety.
Snap, Inc. announced Family Center this month. Parents must first request permission from their child. Snap confirmed that the tool gives parents no insight into "the substance of those conversations."
First, the group says teens intent on risky activity can simply use a second, secret account, which Family Center cannot monitor. Snap responded that people with multiple accounts must fully log out to switch between them. In the group's test, switching took about four seconds, the same time it took to reach Family Center from the home screen.