In an advisory released on May 23, Murthy calls for tech companies, policymakers, and parents to take “immediate action to protect kids now”. He points out that without robust independent research it is impossible to know whether social media is safe for children and adolescents. The 25-page advisory also notes that current controls on access by children are not working.

“The bottom line is we do not have enough evidence to conclude that social media is, in fact, sufficiently safe for our kids. And that’s really important for parents to know.”

Dr Vivek Murthy said in an interview with the Associated Press.

While most sites apply a minimum age requirement of 13, almost 40% of 8- to 12-year-olds are regular users.

White House Notice on Youth Mental Health Crisis

The report comes as the White House releases its own notice about what it calls the “unprecedented youth mental health crisis” in the US. It says that the number of children and adolescents dealing with depression and anxiety has risen almost 30% in recent years. In response, the White House is forming a new taskforce on kids and online health and safety. This step is mainly taken to identify potential harms posed by online platforms and to come up with solutions for tech companies developing new products.

Revelations from Whistleblower

These warnings come in the wake of revelations from whistleblower Frances Haugen in 2021. He argued that Facebook and Instagram were knowingly directing young users towards harmful content including material that promoted anorexia. These tech companies were even targeting children under 13. An internal study from Facebook’s parent company Meta reported that 14% of teenage girls said their suicidal thoughts intensified when they used Instagram, while 17% said it exacerbated eating disorders.

Risks of Excessive Social Media Use

Murthy emphasizes that while there are positive benefits to accessing social apps. These include providing community and connection with others who share similar interests or identity. It is especially valuable for LGBTQ+ youth. But the benefits are currently overshadowed by risk factors. A long-term study of 12- to 15-year-olds found that adolescents who spend more than three hours each day on social media have twice the risk of mental health challenges including depression and anxiety. Figures from 2021 suggest that the current average in that age group is 3.5 hours a day. Last but not least, excessive social media use can lead to sleep problems which can alter neurological development of the adolescent brain, resulting in depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.

The Surgeon General urges tech companies to be more open with the public and prioritize young users’ health when creating new products. He also has words for parents: “For every family, it may not be feasible to stop your child from using social media or there may be benefit,” he said. “But drawing boundaries around the use of social media in your child’s life so there are times and spaces that are protected, that are tech-free, can be really helpful.”

Final Words

As Dr Vivek Murthy’s advisory shows us, there is an urgent need for tech companies, policymakers, parents, and guardians alike to take action against what has become a full-blown youth mental health crisis caused by excessive use of social media by children and teenagers. With no robust independent research yet available on whether or not these platforms are safe for young people’s mental wellbeing, it is up to us all to ensure our kids’ safety now – before it’s too late.

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The social media giant has claimed copyright infringement and has asked a court to compel GitHub to identify the poster and anyone who downloaded the code. While GitHub has confirmed that it complied with Twitter’s request to take down the code, it has declined further comment. Twitter, on the other hand, has not responded to any requests for comment.

The leaked code poses a significant threat to Twitter’s security. It is also a major concern as the social media platform is already grappling with a host of issues. These range from company cash-flow to site outages, and are part of Elon Musk’s efforts to change Twitter’s course through an aggressive mix of cost-cutting and policy changes.

Elon Musk & The Twitter’s Downfall

Elon Musk took over as CEO of Twitter last year. His aim was to revive the social media platform by introducing new policies. However, these changes have not been smooth sailing. The site has already faced numerous outages and former staff members have expressed concern about the site’s security and performance after Musk initiated large-scale layoffs, reducing the workforce by more than two-thirds. The latest leak of Twitter’s source code raises questions about the security of the platform.

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter and initiated massive layoffs, the social media platform has been going through a period of turbulence. Musk, who purchased Twitter for $44 billion last year, had claimed that he wanted to promote “free speech” on the platform. However, this move has raised concerns among many users who fear that safety guardrails are being rolled back, leading to an increase in hate speech on the site.

22 Billion in Market Value lost since Acquisition

In a recent email sent to staff, Musk referred to Twitter as an “inverse startup” undergoing radical changes. The email, which discussed stock awards for employees, revealed that Twitter was currently valued at around $20 billion, which is less than half of its acquisition price. However, Musk believes that the platform has the potential to be worth more than $250 billion in the future.

Under Elon Musk, Twitter has encountered several obstacles. These include a bumpy initial launch of a service that allows users to pay for a blue checkmark, which is used to denote verified accounts. The service was temporarily paused but has since been relaunched. Twitter announced that unpaid checkmarks will be removed from April 1.

The company has also experienced significant outages when engineers made minor code tweaks, leading Musk to publicly criticize Twitter’s “brittle” code and suggest that it will need a complete rewrite.

But these issues are not the only concerns facing Twitter. Before Musk took over, a former security executive, Peiter Zatko, blew the whistle on the company for allegedly deceiving regulators about “extreme, egregious deficiencies” in its defenses against hackers. This revelation worried lawmakers and regulators because Twitter was already under FTC oversight for its security and privacy practices.

Will the leaked code harm Twitter?

While it is still unclear whether this will expose Twitter to security vulnerabilities or hackers, experts are warning of potential risks. According to Kurtis Minder, CEO of cybersecurity company GroupSense, “source code is sort of the keys to the kingdom…you generally don’t want your source code dumped like this.” The ‘Source code’ is a the sum of programming code that powers apps and could contain insights that may contains secrets or allow access.

However, Lukasz Olejnik, an independent cybersecurity researcher and consultant, believes that users’ personal information is likely not at risk. The biggest concern for Twitter may be the impact on its reputation. It is difficult to gauge whether an exploitable vulnerability can be spotted and utilized immediately, he said.

Twitter’s Response

Twitter filed a takedown request to GitHub, describing the leak as “proprietary source code for Twitter’s platform and internal tools.” The legal filing referred to it as “various excerpts of Twitter source code.”

It is unknown what will be the full consequences of the Leak. Twitter has been reluctant to answer media requests and Musk advised to resorting to very controversial methods.

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