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.
Wall Street Journal report finds adult content on young children's TikTok feeds
At the start of the back-to-school season, the Wall Street Journal reported that videos about drugs, pornography and other adult content regularly appear on TikTok accounts purporting to belong to young children. Berkman says his organization, a consumer protection group focused exclusively on social media, was not surprised. Its ongoing safety testing of all major platforms has found significant volumes of problematic content on children's accounts, including thousands of posts classifiable as cyberbullying, sexual harassment, fraud and violence. On TikTok, the group found such content even with Restricted Mode switched on, a setting the platform markets as a way for parents to limit inappropriate material.
Cyberbullied children are about twice as likely to attempt suicide
Berkman cites evidence that children who view drug-related content on social media are more likely to abuse substances themselves. Children exposed to sexually explicit material tend to engage in riskier sexual behavior. Cyberbullied children are about twice as likely to attempt suicide.
Haugen's disclosures point to a conflict between safety and profit
Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen provided evidence that Facebook reportedly conducted its own research finding Instagram harms the mental well-being of teen users, and did not publicize it. Facebook has also allegedly known that drug cartels and traffickers used its platforms for criminal operations. Berkman argues that platforms face an inherent conflict between safety and profit, since more moderation can mean less engagement or higher costs.
TikTok responded to the Journal's findings by saying "no algorithm will ever be completely accurate at policing content." Berkman reads that as an admission that the platform cannot fully guarantee children's safety.
Proposal: third-party safety tools, required by law if necessary
Berkman says independent safety software providers, whose only profit motive is protecting children, can send parents alerts when a child encounters unsafe content. He argues any platform could give these providers secure access with a negligible operational burden. If platforms refuse, he says, policymakers should require access for all services that serve children. In his view, a thriving market would bring better content filtering, smarter alerts and more effective time-management tools.
Berkman compares the issue to the automobile: in the 1920s, 18 people died in accidents per million miles driven, a rate cut by more than 90% over the past century through improved technology, regulation and consumer education.