Sen. Mallory McMorrow proposes parent-approved safeguards to keep Michigan kids safe online

In an exclusive interview, McMorrow told The ‘Gander how she’s fighting alongside Michigan parents to create guardrails that prevent Big Tech companies from profiting off of kids’ online data.

As Big Tech companies continue to rake in millions of dollars while resisting safeguards that would limit harmful and addictive content for kids, Michigan lawmakers are taking a stand.

Among them is Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak). Her plan calls for, among other things, ending incentives to harvest kids’ data, removing addictive features like “infinite scroll” for users under age 14, and banning chatbots that represent themselves as licensed professionals. 

In a recent interview with ‘Gander reporter Lucas Henkel, Sen. McMorrow discussed how Michigan parents have helped her create a plan to keep kids safe as President Trump and his administration continue to align themselves with Big Tech companies. 

Related: Mallory McMorrow runs for US Senate to ‘cut through the BS’ and deliver for Michigan

The following interview has been edited for grammar, style, and clarity. 

Lucas Henkel: What’s the moment as a lawmaker that made you say, “Enough, I have to do something about this”?

Sen. Mallory McMorrow: Honestly, it’s from hearing from other parents. 

Parents feel like they’re at their wits’ end. The government has historically protected kids from smoking, drinking, and gambling—things that your brain isn’t fully developed enough to do responsibly. Yet we’ve let Big Tech get away with developing products that are just as addictive as these other things for profit, with no checks on them.

It’s hard enough for me, as a grown adult, to manage my screen time and not go down a rabbit hole of social media, comments, and all the pressure. For a kid, it’s completely different… it is hooked up to you 24/7. Social media companies make money by keeping your eyeballs glued to the screen as long as possible. A lot of the features of social media replicate slot machines—it’s the pull to refresh, the dings, the red notifications, and the endless scroll.

LH: You’re explicitly calling out President Trump for gutting agencies meant to protect kids. Can you talk about how you’ve seen him side with Big Tech instead of everyday Americans?

MM: Yeah, I mean, just look at who was present at his inauguration and his swearing-in: Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos are cozying up to a seat at the table.

Elon wasn’t just somebody who supported the president; he was brought into the White House and executed DOGE and slashed and burned through the government, while at the same time turning X into a cesspool of hate and nastiness, and there are no checks there.

I mean, you have xAI, a few weeks ago, producing [child sexual abuse material] when it was prompted. And the fact that there seems to be no desire from this administration to put any sensible regulations around Big Tech is terrifying. The argument you might get from tech is, “Well, we’re the innovators, we have to move forward,” but we put guardrails around anything.

The way I think about this is not anti-tech. We need sensible regulation that protects the most vulnerable, and with this plan rollout, we’re starting with kids.

LH: Playing devil’s advocate… is there a concern that this type of legislation would take power away from parents who are already monitoring their children online?

MM: No. What I am hearing loud and clear from parents is that the tools are not enough. 

If you are a working parent in this country, you do not have time to monitor your kid online 24/7. I hear parents saying there has to be a baseline, there have to be norms, and that the tools tech companies have been putting in place just feel like window dressing. It’s not actually doing anything to curb the anxiety and the depression that kids themselves are reporting. They feel like they can’t put the phone down, they’re sleeping with it, or they are not sleeping at all. 

So no, I don’t think this gets in the way. This is, frankly, a plan we built out of hearing parents say, “I can’t keep up with this, and I need help.”

Related: Meta’s ‘teen safety’ tools are failing Michigan kids—and Republicans aren’t helping

LH: If a Michigan teen is watching this on social media right now and thinking, “Adults just don’t get it,” what do you want to say directly to them?

MM: There is a really healthy version of the internet where you can find people like you, you can find your identity, you can search, but when it’s being monetized, that is where I have a real issue. 

For teens, especially as they explore, tech companies shouldn’t be following them around to serve ads based on what they search and what they look at. They should have that sense of privacy as a minor. And we also need to pass strong data privacy laws, so we know what is being collected, how it is used, and give parents control over that data.

This is really about helping us get back to a safer internet and safer tech, so that you can safely explore, find websites, creators, and people who connect with you. Where you finally see yourself in somebody who may not be in your friend group or in your school. There are tons of resources available; this will make it safer for teens to find them and engage with them. 

LH: Your proposal would ban chatbots that present themselves as doctors, therapists, or lawyers. What’s the worst-case scenario you’re trying to head off, and have you already heard of Michigan families being misled this way?

MM: Chatbots are effectively trained to be yes-men. They agree with you, they validate what you’re feeling, and that can be a very dangerous slope if you are suffering from anxiety and depression and you’re suicidal. 

We’ve seen, not in Michigan yet, but around the country, a few reports of chatbots going so far as to validate users’ suicidal ideations and then teach them how to execute a suicide. There have now been multiple people who have [died by suicide]. There are transcripts of chatbots validating these things. There have to be safety measures built into these things, where if somebody expresses anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts, the tool should be able to offer some numbers for a therapist in your area, somebody who’s a real professional who can help you work through things. 

When you have these chatbots posing as doctors, lawyers, mental health professionals…That’s really dangerous, especially if you are in a place where you’re feeling really isolated. It may be that the chatbot is the only “person” you feel like you can talk to, but it’s not a person. It’s been programmed to validate you, and we need to make sure that there’s an off-ramp so you can get the help that you need.

Related: Michigan’s US Senate candidates weigh in on data centers and AI 

LH: Do you see taking on Big Tech as a partisan issue, or is there a path to bipartisan support from Michigan Republicans and parents who share the same fears?

MM: I think there is room for bipartisanship, especially when we are starting from a place of protecting kids. There seems to be a near-unanimous recognition on both sides of the aisle that something has gone very wrong, that we have gone off course.  

We need to course correct to make sure that, as a country, we continue to innovate and be tech leaders, but we do so in a way that makes sure we’re putting people first. Tech should be a tool; it shouldn’t be something that makes money off us.

LH: What words of encouragement do you have for Michiganders who are trying to push back against the Trump administration, or even fight for their communities to make sure that they’re heard?

MM: That it’s working. I think one of my biggest fears after the 2024 election was that people would give up. I mean, I was shocked, and it took me a long time to be okay after the 2024 election.

I started doing a series of ‘Ask Me Anything’ posts on Instagram, and I’ve probably answered more than 300 questions since that election. What was amazing was not only the volume, but that people were asking, ‘What do we do now? How do we engage? How do we fight back, and how do we organize?’ And to me, that is a sign that people are not giving up. 

There are small victories like that every single day. Taking a step back and looking at those moments, we are making an impact. It’s encouraging to see that people are still as engaged as we are.

Related: Upper Peninsula communities join forces to push back against Big Tech