The FTC is considering hiring a child psychologist to help develop internet regulations.

• The Federal Trade Commission intends to appoint a child psychologist to assist with its internet regulation efforts, as announced by Democratic Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya in an interview with The Record on Monday.
• Lina Khan, the FTC Chair, supports the plan and hopes it can be implemented by next fall, according to Bedoya.
• Bedoya aims to convey a powerful message to other U.S. law enforcement agencies through this action, emphasizing the importance of having these individuals in-house as a permanent capacity.

The Federal Trade Commission intends to appoint a child psychologist to assist with its internet regulation efforts, as announced by Democratic Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya in an interview with The Record on Monday.

Lina Khan, the FTC Chair, supports the plan, according to Bedoya, who hopes it can be implemented by next fall, although the commission does not have a definitive timeline yet.

FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar stated in a CNBC interview that the plan is to hire one or more child psychologists to evaluate the mental health effects of online activities among children and young people. The FTC is currently considering the number of psychologists to hire and when to do so.

The FTC's plan is a part of a broader effort by the U.S. government to safeguard online protections for children and teenagers. Legislation has been proposed by federal and state lawmakers to mandate stronger age verification or hold tech companies accountable for designing safe products for young users. In May, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory warning that social media use by young people can have significant negative impacts on their mental health.

The FTC's plan to establish an expert agency is reflective of its approach as an agency through and through. This follows its earlier decisions to add economists and technologists to its ranks of lawyers on staff.

Bedoya stated to The Record that it is "definitely a part of our tradition of progressively enhancing our knowledge."

Commissioners like Bedoya envision having an in-house child psychologist as a valuable resource.

He stated to The Record that he has 80 Ph.D. economists at his disposal to answer any economic questions he may have, but he lacks full-time staff with expertise in psychology to address allegations about mental health harms.

Hiring a child psychologist on staff can signal to other law enforcement agencies that the FTC values the expertise of these professionals and wants to have them available as a standing capacity.

Experts in child psychology could assist the FTC in evaluating allegations of how social media affects mental health and assessing the impact of dark patterns or other deceptive features.

Bedoya stated that the initial hires would most likely be "psychological scientists" or "social psychologists," who focus on research rather than evaluating children in a clinical setting. Although he cannot "presuppose anything," they would likely work on investigations, strategy, and possibly rulemaking.

Read the full interview at The Record.

The Aspen Institute's Vivian Schiller claims that X has transformed into a pool of incorrect and deceptive information.