Campaigners gathered outside Meta’s UK headquarters today, urging the social media giant, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to pay a ‘misery tax’ on its massive earnings to support mental health services in the UK. The group, Mad Youth Organise, highlighted the need for competition laws and proposed a publicly-owned social media platform to counter the dominance of companies like Meta, whom they blame for exacerbating youth mental health issues. Demonstrators distributed leaflets and displayed a large poster criticizing Meta outside their offices in Kings Cross.
The activists also launched a billboard campaign across London, demanding that Meta allocate four percent of its UK revenue, exceeding £3 billion in 2024, to fund public mental health services. Emma Hughes, a campaigns organizer for Just Treatment, emphasized the broader initiative to hold various industries, including beauty, fossil fuel, and big tech, accountable for contributing to the mental health crisis among young people.
The campaigners’ efforts align with the UK government’s ongoing public consultation on young people’s online behavior and technology use, which includes a proposed ban on social media for children under 16. Despite the regulatory measures under consideration, Hughes emphasized the inadequacy of government intervention alone in addressing the harms caused by social media’s algorithms and targeted advertising, stressing the urgency for additional actions to protect vulnerable individuals from issues like social media addiction.
Hughes underscored the necessity for a review of competition laws in the tech sector and suggested exploring the viability of a publicly-owned social media platform as a more sustainable solution. She echoed sentiments from other advocacy groups, cautioning against a blanket social media ban that could inadvertently harm young people who rely on online platforms for social interaction. Adele Zeynep Walton, a campaigner who lost her sister to suicide linked to harmful online content, supported the campaign, emphasizing the urgent need for safer online environments.
To engage with the government consultation and find support on related issues, individuals are encouraged to participate in the ‘Growing up in an online world’ consultation and seek assistance from organizations like the NSPCC and InternetMatters.org.
