A recent study from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows that social media companies collectively generated a staggering $11 billion in advertising revenue from minors in the United States last year. The findings underscore a pressing need for government regulation of social media, as companies fail to self-regulate adequately.

The study highlights the potential harms to youth mental health and advocates for increased transparency and regulatory measures to counter harmful advertising practices targeting children and adolescents.

According to the Harvard study, YouTube topped the list in ad revenue from users 12 and under ($959.1 million), followed by Instagram ($801.1 million) and Facebook ($137.2 million). Instagram led in ad revenue from users aged 13-17 ($4 billion), followed by TikTok ($2 billion) and YouTube ($1.2 billion). The study also estimates that Snapchat derived the largest share of its overall 2022 ad revenue from users under 18 (41%), followed by TikTok (35%), YouTube (27%), and Instagram (16%).

The researchers argue that the results underscore a critical necessity for government intervention in social media regulation. The failure of these platforms to implement meaningful self-regulation poses significant concerns, especially considering the financial incentives tied to children using their services.

Bryn Austin, a professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard and a senior author on the study, emphasized, "Although social media platforms may claim that they can self-regulate their practices to reduce the harms to young people, they have yet to do so, and our study suggests they have overwhelming financial incentives to continue to delay taking meaningful steps to protect children."

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UK to possibly ban social media for users under 16

Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported, citing insider sources, that minors in the UK under the age of 16 will possibly be banned from using social media in an attempt to maintain their mental stability and health, under internet safety legislation proposed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Platforms like TikTok, Twitch, and Snap are among those being considered in the blanket ban by ministers gathering evidence to prove their harm against children, before a consultation due next month.

Experts behind the UK’s Online Safety Act have called the ban controversial; several of whom called it counterproductive in comments to reporters.

Former Facebook executive Lord Allan of Hallam, an advisor on the legislation, told The Times, "The whole point of the Online Safety Act is to try and make platforms like social media platforms safe for children," adding, "What’s all that effort for if the alternative is to say, ‘well, they just can’t go on it at all’. It’s a completely different strategy from the one that the government has been marching down and investing massively in the last two years."

A spokesperson for Sunak’s office downplayed the whole idea and denied final decisions being made, adding that they "are looking broadly at this issue of keeping children safe online," but sources informed Bloomberg that the plan had "not been ruled out."