Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Joins Semafor’s Virtual “Age and Access in the Social Media Era” Fireside Chat

Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Joins Semafor's Virtual "Age and Access in the Social Media Era" Fireside Chat

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul joined Semafor's virtual "Age and Access in the Social Media Era" fireside chat to discuss youth mental health.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.

AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available.

PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour:  Hello again, everyone. Governor Hochul, welcome and thank you so much for joining us.

Governor Hochul: I appreciate the invitation. It's an important topic to be conversing about, and I appreciate everyone who's gathered here today to listen to it.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: So, for the benefit of everyone in the room, one of the reasons we're so pleased that Governor Hochul could join us today is because it was just in June that she signed into law two major pieces of legislation. One: expanding on federal privacy protections for kids. The other: regulating social media algorithms for users under the age of 18. And many people say that both of these laws could be blueprints for other states to follow.

So, Governor, let's start with that one law called the Safe for Kids Act. It made New York the very first state to pass a law that regulates social media algorithms. It basically requires those companies to display the content chronologically, right, as a default for kids under the age of 18. Why was that a priority for you and how do you enforce it?

Governor Hochul: This was the outgrowth of a year-long journey that I started back when I announced $1 billion to address the mental health crisis in our state. And I went on a listening tour of - particularly teenagers, but all ages, but - really focused on young people to listen to them about what their challenges were and why we've had to have the Surgeon General declare that there's so many hours a day that young people spent on social media and their cell phones, that it's becoming a public health crisis.

And what I saw firsthand and listened to firsthand were stories of teenagers who are in great distress. The pressures on teenagers are great for any age - all of us remember what it was like to be a high school student. It was not an easy time. But with the influence of social media on them - and I'm not talking about their ability to go to a website and check out something - this does not restrict their ability to do that. It simply says, after listening to all the challenges that our young people are going through, that they're being bombarded all day long by social media algorithms that are designed to pull them in with their addictive content and hold them. And it's not always positive information is the problem. I've listened to them and they want us to save them from themselves. Young people can't stop this, but the adults in the room have to. We have no choice but to try and save them from this and to allow them to live healthier, more normal lives as previous generations were able to.

So, what this does is say, parents are in charge. Parents who want to allow this are certainly welcome to, but we're saying that these young people are free to go where they want to go, but the companies themselves cannot be capturing personal information about them and then using that to devise addictive algorithms that hold them, literally for most of their waking hours of the day. That was why this was important. We work with the industry. I have said to the industry, as we're always being threatened with lawsuits, it happens all the time in my job - I said, "Listen, get out of the courtroom and get into my conference room. We can solve this. We want responsible social media."

And I'm asking those actors to really lead the rest of the nation with the model that we've devised. And it overcame a lot of opposition, but I feel even more committed to it as we continue our summer of listening sessions. And that's what one state did and I believe that others should follow.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: Well, let me ask you about those interactions with the social media companies in particular because, while you're the first state to take this kind of action, you've seen a number of other states have taken some kind of action trying to address these same problems that you raised. Basically, all of them have ended up in court and facing legal challenges. So, do you expect to face the same, and do you think this will hold up?

Governor Hochul: We don't have to go there is my message. New York State - New York City - we're very tech friendly. We are the number one destination for tech jobs in America today. We're enormously proud of this. We want them to grow and be successful, even in this space, but not when it comes to our kids. We're just asking them; can you carve out children under the age of 18 and not have these addictive algorithms bombard them? When they're adults, they'll be able to have more decision-making authority. They can do what they want. But I think that they should, you know, avoid any litigation with us because we feel we'll be successful. We spent a lot of time researching this and welcoming their comments, and this is the path we believe we should be on.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: Well, we have seen - especially in the last year - so many states trying to tackle this in lots of different ways. Do you think, in the absence of any kind of federal regulation, that a state-by-state approach is the best way to tackle this?

Governor Hochul: No, there should be a federal approach. You know, I support businesses, I don't think that we should have so many roadblocks. I want them to be successful. I want them to hire more people in our state. This is an important part of our economy and our identity.

That being said, in the absence of federal legislation, and sometimes waiting for a Republican House and a Democratic Senate and a president to get together and be able to solve this is perhaps asking too much. I don't know. It should happen. I served in Congress and I believe there should be a path forward.

But in the meantime, every day that goes by where the children of my state are not being protected, I feel I have to do something. I happen to be the first mom governor of New York. This gives me a different perspective that we've not had in our leaders before and I do not ignore the voices of young people. I listen to them and I want to help them. When they're asking me for help as an adult, I know who I'm fighting for.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: So, when you say you want to see federal regulation, could you be specific? Do you want to see federal action similar to this law that you signed that goes after the algorithm specifically?

Governor Hochul: Right. Again, this is not stopping social media platforms from doing what they do. We're simply saying, isolate young people, 18 and under, leave them alone, let them scroll and go where they want to go, but do not be affirmatively devising algorithms, intentionally addictive based on their preferences that you've captured from places they've gone before, and using that to hold them captive throughout the day.

That's all we're talking about. I think that's a very reasonable approach, and if the federal government does it, then all the companies will know the rules of the road in every state. I know it's difficult for them to have to say, well, we have this policy here, this policy here, but they should be supporting an all-state approach if we can't get Congress to act as well. It's in their interest.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: Yeah, I'm curious, because we mentioned that some folks have said what you've done could be a blueprint for other places. Have other governors been reaching out to you, asking you questions about how it's going, how they can get this done?

Governor Hochul: We have a lot of conversations about this, but also even how young people are being accessed throughout the day. It's basically because they have their cell phone attached to their hand, right? And we're talking about that here in the state of New York is during the school day, when young people should be listening to the adults in the room, listening to the teachers not engaging in all this conflict, written conversations that happen online because the bullying is intense, This has taken our young people to a very depressed place in many cases - I've heard from them firsthand. So, we are actually looking at a way to address this statewide and talking about why we even allow cell phones in a school. We don't allow video games. You know, young people are restricted from smoking and from alcohol and a lot of other influences that they're certainly welcome to enjoy when they're older.

But this is - the negative effects of this on the psychology and the mental health of our young people cannot be disputed. As I said, our Surgeon General has pointed this out. And we as the adults in the room, the adults in government, have to step up. I believe that this should be a broad-based approach. I'm reaching out my hands once again to the companies and saying, work with us to solve this.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: So, on the issue of cell phone regulation in schools in particular, which I know is another priority of yours, we have seen other state legislatures, it's worth pointing out Republican led legislatures, in Virginia and in Utah, banning smartphones in schools. When you say that you're looking at some kind of step, do you think a ban in New York is necessary?

Governor Hochul: I personally do. I am looking to talk to other stakeholders. We have a big conference in a couple of weeks with our teachers' unions who are very involved with this, who support this, and I know that there's parents who are anxious about this, but I do want to point out one thing.

My children were in middle school when the slaughter of teenagers at Columbine High School occurred and it shook every parent I knew to their core to think that your child could be exposed to this, or go to school one day and you think they're going to return home and they don't. This is the worst nightmare for parents. But I assume that parents would need to have connection with their children throughout the day through a cellphone. But what I learned from law enforcement, when we brought them in, their view is very straightforward and direct, and this is it.

If there is a crisis on the college campus or on a campus with high school or grade school, if there's a mass shooter, the last thing you want to have happen is people reach for a cellphone and start texting their parents or their friends or capturing on video even. They need to be following the adult in the room: their professor, their teachers, their, you know, whoever's, you know - the lunchroom monitor. They need to turn their attention to the person who will get them to safety. And I think when that's absorbed by parents and parents remember that they didn't have access to their parents throughout the day. This is also about young people's personal development.

Yes, parents are happy they can bring in the lunch if they get a text message that their son or daughter forgot their lunch. However, you're not teaching them coping skills if they don't have to figure it out on their own. If they have to eat their friend's, you know, borrow half a sandwich from their friend. I can guarantee the next day they won't forget it.

So, let's not forget that our responsibility, is not to raise children, it's to raise adults. Fully functioning adults. Those who can interact with each other. Those who know how to make eye contact, unlike what's happening in our schools today. Our schools are silent. Absolutely silent in the lunchroom and in Phys-ed class and in the school yard because no one's communicating at a human level. We've lost that and we have to recapture that.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: Governor, if I may. Pardon the interruption. I know our time is limited. I want to be respectful of your schedule, but you mentioned, of course, I take your point on law enforcement's perspective on this. You have been on a statewide listening tour. You're talking to people in your community. How do they feel? How do parents feel about a potential cellphone ban in schools? What do they tell you?

Governor Hochul: When parents have had a chance to listen to our perspective, what teachers are saying, the fact that 72 percent of teachers surveyed in this country said that it's become a major impediment to teaching their children, parents are paying attention to that. And once we can deal with that law enforcement side of it, we are winning them over.

I'm hearing from more school boards as well, and school districts. We actually have some examples in New York where they went cold turkey. One or two years ago we've had people come in from those schools and they talk about initially there was resistance from the community, resistance from parents, and almost to a person.

They're saying, "What took us so long? We're getting our kids back. They're acting like normal, carefree kids who are not just so stressed out every day about someone who's going to be sending a message or someone who's mocking them out on social media."

Even the drama teachers and the chorus teachers are saying that right now, kids don't want to try out for auditions. They don't want to go to these, they don't want to sing in public. They don't want to do, you know, perform in a school play because they're going to be, you know, captured on video and it's going to go viral in the school, and everybody's going to mock them out. This has an effect that I don't think people could have foreseen.

But the bottom line is this: they're supposed to be paying attention and learning in school. They have plenty of hours, once they leave that school, to engage with anybody they want to talk to in their free time, with their parents' involvement, and I'm just talking about let them start to learn again and act like children.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: Governor, I wouldn't be doing my job as a journalist if I didn't ask you about recent news about your office, and that was the story that broke yesterday about your former Deputy Chief of Staff, Linda Sun, who was arrested and charged with acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government. Your office has made clear she'd been fired in March of 2023 for misconduct, and you are cooperating with law enforcement. But is there anything else you can tell us about that case?

Governor Hochul: Absolutely shocking. And she has been in government for many, many years, even prior to the time I became governor, where she was involved in making a lot of decisions related to the relationship between the administration at the time and the Chinese government promoting Chinese, you know, viewpoints and giving them proclamations and visas. And actually, atthe same time, really diminishing any involvement with the country of Taiwan. It is shocking in its scale. I'm glad we were able to see some evidence that didn't look right to us. And we immediately alerted the authorities, and hence we have this outcome.

And I would also just say this: to think that any foreign agent, any foreign government has the audacity to infiltrate a government organization like the State of New York - has to be addressed. And we'll be talking more about what we want to see happen today, but I will say this - everyone should be aware who they are empowering with positions. Again, she was doing more Proclamations and outreach to the community. She had no access to documentation or security information at all - or cyber security. So, there was a limit to it.

On the other hand, it never should have happened. And we're taking strong actions at this time, again cooperating with the Eastern District of New York fully to make sure that they have everything they need from us.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: Finally, it wouldn't be a Washington DC panel if I didn't ask you about politics.

So, I have to ask, related to the upcoming elections - because it wasn't too long ago that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has lamented time and again the loss of five New York congressional seats in 2022. She mentioned it multiple times in a recent interview with me as well.

And recently when she was asked why she thinks that happened, she said, "I think it related to the Gubernatorial race." Do you think that it did?

Governor Hochul: No. The same year we lost five seats in California. So, I think there's a broader analysis that would be justified.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: And when you look ahead, do you think that Democrats can flip those seats back in November?

Governor Hochul: I sure do, that's why I'm devoting an enormous amount of my energy.

The last time I had been Governor just for a very short time, I just ascended into the role unexpectedly. And now that I'm through that I'm laser focused. I'm building up the State party, and we have five seats I believe we can pick up.

We already picked up Tom Suozzi's seat, and I was very involved in that. He left his seat in Congress to run against me, and that was one of those seats we lost. But all's well that ends well. I have accepted his apology for that, and I thought it was important that we send him back to Congress again to increase our numbers.

I served in Congress in the minority. Barack Obama was in his first years, we had Speaker Boehner in charge. I saw how challenging it is for a Democratic president to accomplish anything with a Republican minority. I see what President Biden's going through.

I want to change that dynamic for President Harris, and make sure she has strong allies to do what they have to do to protect working members of our society and give people a good chance at living the American dream. And all the other agenda items that are so important, building back our economy, making it stronger than even it is today.

So, there's a lot we can do. And so that's why I'm devoting an enormous amount of my attention to helping in those battleground seats, even as we speak.

Amna Nawaz, PBS News Hour: New York Governor Kathy Hochul, thank you so much for joining us on behalf of me and everyone in the room. We appreciate your time.