(NEW YORK) — Amid a nationwide campaign to promote COVID-19 booster shots, vaccine scientists and public health experts say vaccines are still holding up remarkably well for most people — depending on how effectiveness is measured.
In fact, many scientists now worry that the recent booster shot authorization could give the false impression that existing vaccines are no longer offering protection.
“They all work well,” said Dr. Paul Goepfert, an infectious disease physician and director of the Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic. “They aren’t perfect by any means. But if your bar is prevention of hospitalizations in the United States, they still work incredibly well.”
A vaccine’s effectiveness can be measured in several different ways. One is their ability to protect people from mild infections. When first authorized, Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines proved 95% and 94% effective using this threshold, and Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine proved 75% effective.
“No vaccine entirely prevents disease,” said Dr. Anna Durbin, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Even protecting from mild infections is “a high bar for a vaccine,” said Dr. Paul Offit, an FDA advisory panel member and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
And even if a vaccine achieves that high bar, t quickly starts waning. Antibodies, which protect against infection, surge after vaccination — but then rapidly fade. Other parts of the immune system, like T cells and B cells, remain more stable over time, protecting against severe disease and death.
Scientists and public health experts say what really matters is a vaccine’s ability to prevent severe illness and hospitalization. And on that metric, all three vaccines performed well from the start — each more than 90% effective — and have remained relatively stable, even through the emergence of a new delta variant
“It’s the unusual vaccine that protects you against mild illness,” Offit said. “It’s OK to get infected. It really is. You just don’t want to get seriously infected.”
A comprehensive study from New York state offers a glimpse of this phenomenon, finding that all three vaccines remained roughly 86% effective when it came to reducing the risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19 from May to August.
But over the same time frame, all three lost some ability to protect against breakthrough infection. Though vaccine efficacy started from a high point, from May to August, efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine declined by 25% to 14% depending on age, the Moderna vaccine declined 18% to 9% and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine declined 19% to 11%.
When it comes to booster shots, experts agree there are some people who clearly need them — chiefly, people with weakened immune systems and the elderly, who also mount a less robust immune response.
Today, more than 13 million people in the United States have already received a booster shot. Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are authorized six months after the first shot for those 65 and older, and those at high risk of developing COVID-19. Johnson & Johnson boosters, meanwhile, are authorized for anyone at least two months after the first shot. After the Pfizer booster shots were authorized, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said it was a “walk, don’t run” situation, during a conversation with The Atlantic.
“There is no doubt that if you were to get a booster every two months or so, you may prevent all symptoms,” Durbin said. “But there’s a cost to that.”
It’s expensive, for one. And there are concerns that frequent boosting could dull the immune system’s ability to fight future variants, because the boosters could focus the immune response on the COVID-19 strain used to make the current vaccines.
Widely publicized concerns about breakthrough infections may have “focused the conversation prematurely on the need for boosters,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor.
“Concerns about waning immunity and breakthrough cases have likely been overblown,” Brownstein said.
And boosters for the vaccinated — while offering a temporary shield against mild infection — are unlikely to dramatically turn the tide of the pandemic.
“Boosting is not going to be what’s going to be the issue for us as a country,” said Goepfert. “It’s finding the people who are still unvaccinated.”
More of the lineup for the 2021 CMA Awards was unveiled this week, and it’s packed with stars. Jason Aldean will hit the stage with Carrie Underwood to perform their duet “If I Didn’t Love You,” which just reached the top of the country charts.
Kane Brown and Chris Young will contribute another megawatt duet: They’re going to perform their latest #1 hit, “Famous Friends,” which is the title track on Chris’ latest album.
Also just added to the bill are Miranda Lambert and Luke Combs. Old Dominion will take the stage, too, performing their new single “I Was on a Boat That Day.” Meanwhile, Chris Stapleton will perform “Cold,” which comes off his latest album, Starting Over.
The newest round of performers joins an already stacked bill: Previously-announced acts who’ll hit the stage include Eric Church, Dan + Shay, Blake Shelton and Carly Pearce with Ashley McBryde.
The 2021 CMA Awards airs on Wednesday, November 10 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. The ceremony will take place in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
Italian band Måneskin have been announced as performers on the 2021 MTV Europe Music Awards on November 14.
The “Beggin'” rockers, whose name means “Moonlight” in Danish, will be making their debut on the awards show, where they’re nominated for Best Rock and Best Group. Latin superstar Maluma and German singer Kim Petras will also perform on the show, which will air live from Hungary at 3 p.m. ET across MTV’s various channels. Justin Bieber is the leading nominee, with eight nods.
In other Måneskin news, the Eurovision winners made their U.S. late-night TV debut Tuesday night on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing both “Beggin‘” and their new single, “Mammamia.” You can watch those performances now online.
(NEW YORK) — The travel industry is gearing up for what could be its busiest season since the coronavirus pandemic began, and at least one U.S. airline is aiming to make things quicker and easier — one face at a time.
Delta Air Lines is just days away from launching a first-of-its-kind pilot program that will implement facial recognition technology at two of America’s largest airports — in Atlanta and Detroit.
The Atlanta-based company partnered with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to create a completely touchless experience, from bag drop to security to boarding.
“So is this the future of flying?” asked ABC News transportation correspondent Gio Benitez.
“This is the future in so many ways,” replied Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s senior vice president of customer experience. “Basically, we want to make the airport experience as effortless as possible. What does that mean? Getting out of lines, not having to stop discombobulated.”
To participate in the voluntary pilot program, passengers must have TSA pre-check and be a member of Delta’s loyalty program.
When participating passengers arrive at the airport’s bag drop, TSA checkpoint or boarding gate, they will just need to lower their face mask to utilize the new technology. Their face will be recognized within seconds, and there will be no need to pull out a boarding pass or record locator.
Delta has previously used similar facial recognition technology for passengers to board some international flights.
And it’s not just Delta.
American Airlines started testing its own biometric screening for boarding in March, and that system is still being tested in Dallas.
“A lot of people may be wondering: ‘Wait a minute, what’s going to happen to my photo?'” Benitez asked. “‘Is Delta going to keep my information?'”
“It’s a very valid concern,” Goswami said. “First, we are not storing any photographic imagery at all. All we do is take your photo. And because you’ve uploaded your passport number as part of your Delta profile… we take that passport number and that picture. We just check it against the customs database from your passport photo.”
With Delta expecting more than 5.5 million travelers over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, the pilot program will come at the perfect time.
“It’s actually a good congruence of circumstances that we have this technology ready,” said Byron Merritt, Delta’s vice president of experience design. “We’re going to be able to bring it to life before the holidays and hopefully make a better experience for our customers as they come back.”
While no criminal charges have been filed in the October 21 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Alec Baldwin film Rust, authorities say charges can’t yet be “ruled out.”
That’s the word to The New York Post from Juan Rios, the public information officer for the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office. “[H]onestly if people have information, they need to bring it to us…so we can check into that,” Rios said.
Given the number of witnesses, Rios added that the investigation into the incident last Thursday, during which Baldwin fired a live round toward the camera, fatally striking Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza, will be “going on for a while.”
“We need to be diligent…should there be charges ultimately filed that they are able to uphold those in court,” said Rios.
Baldwin and assistant director Dave Halls reportedly told investigators they didn’t know the revolver Baldwin fired contained a live round.
Meanwhile, the film’s gaffer, or set electrician, Serge Sventoy, took to Instagram to post what he said was among the last photos of Hutchins alive — inside the church where the crew was setting up the scene prior to the fatal shot. Sventoy said he was standing “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Hutchins when the shot rang out.
“I was holding in her my arms when she was dying,” he said, adding that the accident was “the fault of negligence and unprofessionalism.”
“The negligence from the person who was supposed to check the weapon…did not do this,” said Svetnoy. “The person who had to announce the loaded weapon was on the site did not do this.”
Hannah Gutierrez Reed was the armorer on the Rust set. Dave Halls is said to have announced that the gun apparently containing a live round was “cold,” meaning safe, before handing it to Baldwin.
“And the DEATH OF THE HUMAN IS THE RESULT!” Svetnoy said.
Meanwhile, ABC News has learned that Rust producers have hired their own legal team to conduct a separate investigation into the events and circumstances leading up to the fatal shooting. The film’s cast and crew were notified of the news Tuesday night in a note that declares, in part, “We know that reliving this tragedy will be hard, but your participation is important for all of us to be able to fully understand what happened, and we encourage you to share your perspective.”
(NEW YORK) — As colder temperatures begin to settle in for many parts of the nation, schools are set to lose critical tools to keep students and staff safe from coronavirus spread, such as extended outdoor time and open windows.
Despite this disadvantage, medical experts and physicians say elementary and middle school administrators can still limit the spread of the virus during the next couple of months as the vaccine rollout begins for younger age groups.
“Hopefully this year will not lead to the surge we saw last winter,” Dr. Anne Liu, clinical associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Stanford Health, told ABC News.
Liu and other experts said the best thing schools can do is to maintain masking indoors, consistent testing, proper hand-washing practices and social distancing where applicable.
While not all schools will have up-to-date ventilation systems, masking indoors will ensure that the virus doesn’t spread among students, she said. Testing will also help keep any potential cases and outbreaks from spreading, according to medical experts.
Dr. Allison Bartlett, associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Chicago Medicine, told ABC News that schools have already gotten into the habit of implementing these measures and, most importantly, kids have become accustomed to wearing masks.
“We now have months of experience in the real world in school settings in terms of COVID transmission and how effectively masking in schools works,” she said.
Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor, noted that mass rapid testing has also helped schools stop the spread and will be essential to keeping schools open during the winter.
“This allows kids that may have had an exposure to test and stay in school as long as they have daily negative test results,” Brownstein said.
Bartlett and other medical experts who have been studying pediatric coronavirus cases said the best tool against coronavirus spread in schools during the winter will be the approval of COVID-19 vaccines for younger students.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted Tuesday to allow the Pfizer mRNA vaccine to be used for 5-to 11-year-olds. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are slated to vote on approving the vaccine for that age group as early as next week.
The Pfizer vaccine has been available to anyone over 12 since the spring after it was given an emergency use authorization. The FDA fully approved the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and older in August.
Liu, who reviewed the data Pfizer sent to the FDA last week on 5- to 11-year-olds, said the clinical trials have shown the vaccine to be very effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths among that age group, so as more kids receive their doses, the safer classrooms will be in the winter.
Although it will take about five weeks for a student to be fully vaccinated from both doses, including the two-week period to build immunity after their second dose, Liu said that young students will be in a better place the minute they start their vaccination process.
“One shot alone provided strong protection based on that data,” she said.
Bartlett, who has three sons, two of whom are under 12, said that if the vaccines are approved in November, it would ensure that students have that protection preceding the holidays when they are likely to be celebrating indoors with large groups of people.
Coming back from winter break, schools will be able to mitigate any loss of outdoor space and or decreased ventilation if more of their students are vaccinated, Bartlett said. And the vaccinations could help ease class interruptions in another way, she said.
“We’ll hopefully be able to manage vaccinated children in a way that they could probably stay in school if exposed to someone with COVID and not have that disruption in their learning,” she said.
Bartlett warned that it will take a while before schools can start rolling back masking requirements because that will depend on vaccination rates among students.
“As eager as I am to get kids out of masks, I’m really in the mind to go slow,” Bartlett said. “Kids are doing an amazing job dealing with wearing masks and getting our kids able to get vaccinated will be a big motivator to get the pandemic under control.”
Bartlett added that parents must also be aware of the overall COVID-19 transmission rates within their community during the winter, because it will impact the number of cases in schools.
“I think it all could be enough, but the major contributor among kids in schools is what goes on outside the schools in the community,” she said. “If we don’t do a good job in controlling transmissions for adults it will bleed into the schools.”
Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Gwyneth Paltrow shared a little-known story about giving birth to her daughter Apple and revealed she “almost died” during the difficult delivery.
Speaking on Dax Shepard‘s Armchair Expert podcast, the Oscar winner opened up about the traumatic labor, which she said lasted 70 hours.
“I had two caesareans. My daughter was an emergency,” said Paltrow, 49. “It was crazy, we almost died. It was like not good.”
The Iron Man star declined to go into details over the complications she suffered and instead reflected on how the pregnancy physically changed her.
“Anyway, there’s a big scar across your body, and you’re like, ‘Oh, wow, that didn’t use to be there,'” Paltrow remarked. “And it’s not that it’s bad, or you want to judge it, but you’re just like, ‘Oh, my God.'”
The actress said she is thankful she became pregnant before the rise of social media and reflected on how the internet pressures new moms to snap back into shape.
Said the mom of two, “Thank God there wasn’t Instagram when I had babies because now it’s like — if I see someone, ‘Oh, I just gave birth two weeks ago and I have a completely washboard stomach,’ and I’m like, ‘Wow that’s not what I [had!]'”
Paltrow, who attested she was not shaming other women or their bodies, expressed concern that this mentality is pitting moms against each other by making birth an unnecessary competition.
“It’s past perfectionism,” she remarked. “It’s like, ‘I can do this gargantuan task that’s superhuman’… And why? For what?”
Paltrow shares Apple, who is 17, and 15-year-old Moses with ex-husband Chris Martin.
Ed Sheeran’s album isn’t here quite yet, but that didn’t stop him from giving fans a taste of what to expect.
During an impressive NPR Tiny Desk Concert, which premiered on Tuesday, the British singer-songwriter previewed an unreleased song titled “Overpass Graffiti.” The song, which is set to appear on his upcoming album, = (Equals), is set to an upbeat, bouncy beat while the lyrics tell a story of someone who will always have fond memories of his previous lover, despite their break up.
“I will always love you for what it’s worth/ We’ll never fade like graffiti on the overpass/ I know time may change the way you think of us/ But I’ll remember the way we were,” Sheeran sings in the chorus.
Sheeran also performed “Visiting Hours,” “Shivers” and “Bad Habits,” his hit singles that preceded the album, in addition to a surprise cover of Foy Vance‘s “Make it Rain.”
(WASHINGTON) — Jessica Rosenworcel is in line to make history as the first woman to head the Federal Communications Commission, after President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday his intent to officially nominate her as a commissioner and designate her as chair of the agency tasked with regulating telecommunications technology.
Rosenworcel has served as acting chair of the FCC since January, but would need to be confirmed by the Senate to assume her new role as chair in an official capacity. She has been a commissioner since 2012.
Her nomination could also mean the end to Trump-era clampdowns on net neutrality, as Rosenworcel has been a fierce advocate for an internet that is “open and available for all.”
“The internet should be open and available for all. That’s what net neutrality is about,” Rosenworcel said in an October 2020 statement. “It’s why people from across this country rose up to voice their frustration and anger with the Federal Communications Commission when it decided to ignore their wishes and roll back net neutrality.”
She added that she views the rollbacks to net neutrality as a way to “make it easier for broadband companies to block websites, slow speeds, and dictate what we can do and where we can go online.”
During her brief stint as acting chair, Rosenworcel has focused on closing the digital divide at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an abrupt dependence on internet access for millions of Americans in order to go to school or do their jobs.
Rosenworcel’s policy approach and the historic nature of her nomination has also been lauded for representing the needs of women in a sector where they remain underrepresented in leadership positions.
“Every issue is a gender issue, even broadband access,” Rosenworcel wrote in a July op-ed she co-authored with Valerie Jarrett, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama.
The op-ed cited how 31% of women have worried about paying their broadband bill during the pandemic, and delved into the issues working mothers especially faced when schools shuttered for in-person learning. The piece promoted the Emergency Connectivity Fund, which aims to support students who need internet access at home in order to participate in virtual schooling during the health crisis.
The White House also recognized her inclusive approach to telecommunications policy, especially for low-income communities, in a statement Tuesday.
“During her time at the agency, she has worked to promote greater opportunity, accessibility, and affordability in our communications services in order to ensure that all Americans get a fair shot at 21st century success,” a statement from the White House announcing her nomination Tuesday said. “From fighting to protect an open internet, to ensuring broadband access for students caught in the Homework Gap through the FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund, to making sure that households struggling to afford internet service stay connected through the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, she has been a champion for connectivity for all.”
She has also led a fight against illegal robocalls, the statement added, and worked to enhance consumer protections.
Rosenworcel previously worked as a senior communications counsel for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and before that practiced communications law after graduating from the New York University School of Law.
The mother of two is originally from Hartford, Connecticut, but currently lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband.
In addition to announcing Rosenworcel’s nomination, the Biden administration said Tuesday that it plans to nominate fellow net neutrality advocate Gigi Sohn as an FCC commissioner. If both the new nominees are confirmed, it would give the FCC a Democratic majority. If their confirmations are delayed until Rosenworcel’s term expires at the end of the year, Republicans would hold a majority on the commission — setting up a potential political showdown over their confirmations.
(WASHINGTON) — A Senate panel on Tuesday grilled executives from YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat on what the social media companies are doing to ensure young users’ safety in the wake of revelations about Facebook’s practices and allegations the platforms need to do more to prevent potentially harmful effects on kids.
“They have deepened America’s concern and outrage and have led to increasing calls for accountability, and there will be accountability,” Senate Commerce subcommittee Chair Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in his opening remarks regarding the newly exposed details on the inner workings of social media giants.
“We’re hearing the same stories of harm” caused by YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat, Blumenthal said, calling this, “for Big Tech, a Big Tobacco moment.”
“This time is different,” he said.
The subcommittee is seeking information from executives at TikTok, Snap Inc. and YouTube on how critics say algorithms can magnify harm to children, with the goal of passing legislation aimed to protect kids.
“You’re parents,” said Ranking Member Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to the witnesses in her opening statement. “What would you do to protect your child?”
Tuesday’s hearing comes as the subcommittee expands its scope after hearing from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen earlier this month. She alleged that executives blatant disregarded concerns when they learned their platforms could have harmful effects on foreign democracies and the mental health of children.
The hearing also marked the first time TikTok and Snapchat have testified before lawmakers, while Facebook has been called to more than 30 congressional hearings through the years and YouTube executives have already appeared in front this Congress earlier in the year.
The social media executives on Tuesday vigorously defended how their platforms protect children from inappropriate content.
Here are some key takeaways:
Tech companies blasted for alleged lack of transparency
Different from a normally polarized Washington, senators on both sides of the aisle came together to drill the social media executives on transparency and focused on whether they’d allow access to independent researchers to study their algorithms, which some allege have exposed kids to harmful behavior and fueled eating disorders in young girls.
All three platforms said they have studied the potential negative impacts on children’s mental health.
Blumenthal asked, “If an academic researcher comes to you on child psychology and wants to determine whether one of your products causes teen mental health issues or addiction, they get access to raw data from you without interference?”
Jennifer Stout, vice president for global public policy of Snapchat parent Snap Inc., said her company’s algorithms “operate very differently” from those of the other platforms under scrutiny, but ultimately signaled a willingness to support outside researchers, as did TikTok’s executive.
“Yes, senator, we believe transparency for the average is incredibly important. We’re one of the first companies to publish publicly, a deep dive in how our algorithm works,” said Michael Beckerman, a TikTok vice president and head of public policy for the Americas.
Leslie Miller, vice president for government affairs and public policy of YouTube’s owner Google, skirted the question and said that outside research “would depend on the details” — an answer that frustrated Blumenthal.
“I’m going to cite the difference between your response between Mister Beckerman’s and Ms. Stout’s, which indicates certainly a strong hesitancy if not resistance,” Blumenthal said to Miller.
Overall, the executives defended what senators deemed was a lack of transparency.
Stout said in her closing statement that the protection of children is the “highest priority,” and Miller also said at YouTube there “no more important thing than the safety of kids online.”
But Tiktok appeared to be most willing for congressional oversight with Beckerman saying squarely in his closing statement, “We support stronger privacy rules to be put in place.”
Push for privacy legislation
While millions of young users log into the platforms every day, the bipartisan panel of senators appeared to agree that not enough is being done to protect them from harmful content.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., used the moment to push the companies to say whether they support his proposed privacy laws banning the use of targeted ads on kids and other potentially harmful features.
One piece of legislation he’s introduced, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, would prohibit internet companies from collecting personal information from anyone under the age of 13 without parental consent.
“Do you support it or not?” he asked the Snap executive.
“I think, senator, we’d love to talk to you a bit more about this,” Stout said.
“This is just what drives us crazy,” a heated Markey responded. “We want to talk, we want to talk, we want to talk. This bill’s been out there for years, and you still don’t have a view on it?”
“We like your approach,” Beckerman, from TikTok, said. “However, I think a piece that should be included is a better way to verify age across the Internet across apps rather than the system that is in place now. And I think with that improvement, it would be something that we’d be happy to support.”
Miller said wouldn’t commit on the record but said executives at YouTube have had “constructive” conversations internally.
He also pressed them on the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act, or KIDS Act, another piece of legislation he’s introduced to stop online practices such as manipulative marketing, noting the impact of social media influencers on children.
“They’re inherently manipulative to young kids who often cannot tell that they’re really paid advertisements that their heroes pushing that the hero is getting a monetary kickback,” Markey said. “Should we make it illegal?”
Miller said they would “need to stare at the details of such a bill” to which Markey, again, noted,” It’s been around for a while.”
The TikTok executive said they agree that there should be additional transparency and additional privacy laws, which Snap mirrored, but added the caveat, “We would be happy to look at them.”
After Miller said YouTube executives “support the goals of comprehensive privacy legislation,” when Blumenthal raised the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies, or EARN IT, Act, which has bipartisan Senate support, he said back, “This is the topic that we’ve seen again and again and again, and again. ‘We support the goals, but that’s meaningless unless you support the legislation.”
Focus on potential real-world harm on kids
With the momentum of the findings from the Facebook hearing, the panel argued that social media platforms have been allowed to promote and glorify dangerous content, and it especially harms the nation’s most vulnerable: children.
While executives defended their platforms and listed actions that they’ve taken internally, senators on the committee highlighted several examples of inappropriate content slipping past those safeguards and getting in front of children.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said his staff opened an account saying it was for a teenage girl, and when they opened the “Discover” page with its default settings, found concerning videos.
“They were immediately bombarded with content that I can most politely describe as wildly inappropriate for a child, including recommendations for among other things an invite to play an online sexualized video game, tips on why you shouldn’t go to bars alone,” he said, waving his hands with concern.
The Snap executive said guidelines prevent sexual content to 18 and above, “so I’m unclear as to why that content would’ve shown up for an account that was for a 14-year-old.”
Senators reminded the witnesses that Snapchat’s speed filter allowed users to add their speeds and it took eight years for the company to remove the filter following catastrophic car crashes associated with the app.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., pressed Snapchat over the use of illegal drugs being used on its platform in an argument for greater liability on tech companies, citing the case of Devin Norring, who authorities said died in Minnesota after taking Percocet laced with Fentanyl from a drug dealer on Snapchat.
“They can get on your platform and just find a way to buy it, and that is the problem,” she said. “Are you going to get drugs off Snapchat?”
Stout said it was a “top priority” and that it’s happening on other platforms, too.
“I think there are other ways to do this too as creating liability when this happened, so maybe that’ll make you work even faster, so we don’t lose another kid,” Klobuchar replied.
Citing a recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal which found that Tik Tok algorithm can put young users into content glorifying eating disorders, drug violence, Klobuchar asked blankly, “Have you stopped that?”
Beckerman said it’s something they’ve taken action on are “constantly working on” and repeated their support for the Children and Media Research Advancement Act or CAMRA Act.
Blumenthal pressed TikTok on its effects on teens, saying his staff created TikTok accounts intended for dance videos and within a week those accounts were flooded with content of suicidal ideation, self-injury, sex and eating disorders.
Beckerman suggested some of those challenged are overblown by the press and said that’s “not the typical TikTok experience.”
“We found pass-out videos,” Blumenthal said, pausing for dramatic effect. “We found them, so I have a lot of trouble crediting your response on that score.”
“This is stuff occurring in the real world,” he added later.
