Many major social platforms including Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap they will submit to a new external grading process that scores social platforms on how well they protect the mental health of teenagers. The program from Safe Online Standards (SOS) which consists of about two dozen standards covering areas such as platform policy, functionality, management and transparency, content management and more. The SOS initiative is led by Dr. Dan Reidenberg, Managing Director of the National Council for Suicide Prevention.

In announcing the participation of companies, the Mental Health Coalition “SOS establishes clear, user-informed data on how social media, gaming, and digital platforms design products, protect users ages 13-19, and address exposure to suicidal and self-destructive content. Participating companies voluntarily submit documentation of their policies, tools, and product features, which are reviewed by an independent panel of global experts. expert.”

After the evaluation, the platforms will be given . The highest attainable safety rating is “good use,” with a blue badge that can be displayed on compliant platforms. Despite the top rating, the requirements seem fairly run-of-the-mill. The description includes things like “reporting tools are accessible and easy to use,” and “privacy, default and safety functions are clear and easy to set for parents.” Regarding what actions are required by the standards of the rated companies, the “good use” rating states that “platforms and filters help reduce exposure to harmful or inappropriate content.”

Other ratings include “partial protection” which is described in part as “some safety devices exist on platforms, but may be difficult to find or use,” and “does not meet standards” which are given when “content filters and moderation cannot reliably block harmful or unsafe content.”

The Mental Health Coalition, founded in 2020, has cited Facebook and Meta as partners since the early days of the organization. In 2021 the it will bring together “leading mental health experts in partnership with Facebook and Instagram to demystify mental health and connect people with resources” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022 the nonprofit with “support from Meta” which found that “mental health content on social media can reduce stigma while increasing the likelihood of individuals seeking resources, therefore positively impacting mental health.”

In 2024, MHC “in partnership with Meta” launched a campaign called . In it, the group urges parents to have “meaningful conversations” with teenagers about “healthy” social media use, focusing less on whether teens should be on these apps and more on keeping them on the platform in a “time well spent” way, from reducing screen time to “using social media for good” and reviewing their feeds.

It was the same year again to build”“a program that allows technology companies to share data about materials that violate self-harm or suicide content standards. The Mental Health Coalition as a “creative partner” on its website.

Last year it was said to be shows the adverse effects of its products on the mental health of users. The internal research, called “Project Mercury,” began in 2020. Since then the company has introduced several minimal attempts to solve mental health problems, such as . Meta now facing allegations of child harm from addictive products, the first in the upcoming lawsuits against the social media giant.

Other companies participating in the rating program include Roblox, which recently faced harsh accusations of on the platform, and Discord with its age verification processes in response to its own seriousness .