This commentary is by Jason Van Driesche, chief of staff of Front Porch Forum.
I recently testified before both the Senate and the House to advocate for the Vermont Kids Code. This legislation resonates deeply with Front Porch Forum’s mission to help neighbors connect and build community. It stands in stark contrast with big tech’s reckless and harmful prioritization of profits over privacy, safety and genuine community building.
During my testimony, I focused on how the major tech platforms’ massive profits depend on invasive tracking and algorithms designed for addiction. By contrast, Front Porch Forum is a successful Vermont-grown business that helps Vermonters to connect online with nearby neighbors — without the surveillance and outrage-baiting that is the bread and butter of the big tech giants.
Unlike social media platforms that seek to keep users glued to the screen for many hours every day, FPF’s goal is to use online means to real-world ends. Every issue of a community’s Forum gives its members multiple reasons to connect in real life with people who live nearby.
Big tech’s strategy of surveillance and addiction may be good for their financial bottom line, but it’s terrible for society. It divides us, distorts our perceptions of our neighbors, and poses grave risks to young people’s wellbeing.
The Vermont Kids Code would mark a critical shift toward what is known as “data respect” — that is, using people’s (and especially kids’) information in ways that are consistent with their well-being and aligned with why they signed up for the service in the first place. This is the exact opposite of the data exploitation that is the norm in the tech industry.
More specifically, the Code would require that online products that are reasonably likely to be accessed by children under 18 be age-appropriate, institute privacy by design and default and be designed to promote kids’ best interests. This means no more infinite scroll or autoplay. No more serving up extreme content to kids unasked. No more creepy strangers contacting kids online.
Young people online just want to learn about things that matter to them and connect with their friends. They generally don’t ask for — and certainly aren’t well served by — all the garbage and danger that big tech pushes at them in the name of profit.
Over the course of this year’s legislative hearings on the bill, youth, parents, educators and medical professionals have all spotlighted the harmful impacts of big tech’s current model on youth mental health and social skills. All this testimony put what’s at stake in sharp relief for legislators.
The Vermont Kids Code requires common sense measures that Front Porch Forum, along with many other Vermont businesses, already practice. This is exactly why we at Front Porch Forum are so excited about the Vermont Kids Code: it offers meaningful and necessary protections for kids online, while upholding Vermont’s responsible business ethos.
And contrary to what big tech lobbyists claim, everything the Vermont Kids Code calls for is completely within reach — particularly for companies with massive resources that employ some of the smartest minds in the tech business.
While Vermont might be small, passing the Kids Code here sends a powerful message: ethical tech is possible. Businesses can and should build safe and supportive online environments for kids.
The House and Senate are on track to each pass their own versions of the bill, and have just days left to reach a compromise. We urge them to do so and lead by example by passing this bill into law, ensuring that digital spaces where Vermont kids spend time are as safe and healthy as we all expect our real-world communities to be.
