Brazil gives parents social media controls for their kids. Should the US?
Brazil has enacted social media controls giving parents direct authority over their children's accounts, a move that puts it ahead of most U.S. states on children's online privacy. California has the strongest kids' data protections in the country but still falls short of what some other nations now require.
Why this matters: If you are a parent in the U.S., you are mostly on your own when it comes to what platforms collect from your kids and what they can do about it. Brazil decided that was not good enough and gave parents actual tools, not just privacy policies to read. California has gone further than any other U.S. state, but 'best in America' is a low bar when other countries are moving faster. The real issue is that platforms designed to keep kids engaged were never built with parental control in mind, and laws are the only thing that can change that.
Who should care: General readers · Privacy officers · Policy
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