Parent opinion: courts won’t fix it

An Indiana Daily Student opinion published April 19 argues parents should not expect courts to solve children’s online harms and should treat supervision at home as the first line of defense. (idsnews.com) Emma Howard’s column says platforms including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube use “endless-scroll” design to keep users engaged, but says lawsuits and petitions have not changed how those companies operate. She points to a March 2026 California jury verdict that found Meta and Google liable for negligence and awarded a plaintiff $6 million. (idsnews.com) The piece turns on a legal limit: Section 230 generally shields online platforms from liability for third-party content, even though the law has exceptions and does not block every kind of claim. Howard says that makes it unrealistic to expect social media companies to safeguard children through litigation alone. (law.cornell.edu) (congress.gov) (idsnews.com) The argument lands as Indiana is tightening rules around youth social media use. Lawmakers approved a 2026 bill requiring parental permission for some accounts for children 15 and younger and targeting features such as continuous scrolling, autoplay and targeted advertising. (lpm.org) Indiana is also part of a broader courtroom fight. More than 100 Indiana school districts joined litigation against Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Google, and that multidistrict effort includes more than 2,000 school districts nationwide, according to The Indiana Lawyer. (theindianalawyer.com) Howard’s column shifts from legal theory to household practice. It says parents should learn how platforms work, teach children how to use them responsibly and pay attention not just to what children can see online, but to who can reach them there. (idsnews.com) The column cites pediatric data showing about 15% of children first saw pornography online before age 11. An American Academy of Pediatrics resource says surveys have found that same figure, and says exposure becomes more common in the teen years. (idsnews.com) (aap.org) It also cites a global estimate that roughly 300 million children faced online solicitation in a year. Childlight, a research institute launched with the University of Edinburgh, reported that 12.5% of children worldwide were subjected to unwanted sexual talk, coercive requests or related abuse online. (idsnews.com) (childlight.org) (ed.ac.uk) That leaves the debate split across three fronts in 2026: lawsuits against tech companies, new state restrictions on platform design and age access, and parents deciding what rules to enforce on devices already in their homes. Howard’s column argues the third fight cannot be outsourced. (theindianalawyer.com) (lpm.org) (idsnews.com)