WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced theKidsOnlineSafety Act, comprehensive bipartisan legislation to protect childrenonlineand hold Big Tech accountable.
Over the last two years, Senator Blumenthal and I have met with countless parents, psychologists, and pediatricians who are all in agreement that children are suffering at the hands of online platforms,said Senator Blackburn.Big Tech has proven to be incapable of appropriately protecting our children, and its time for Congress to step in. The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act not only requires social media companies to make their platforms safer by default, but it provides parents with the tools they need protect their children online. I thank Senator Blumenthal for his continued partnership on this critical issue and urge my colleagues to join us in the fight to protect our children online.
Our bill provides specific tools to stop Big Tech companies from driving toxic content at kids and to hold them accountable for putting profits over safety,said Senator Blumenthal.Record levels of hopelessness and despaira national teen mental health crisishave been fueled by black box algorithms featuring eating disorders, bullying, suicidal thoughts, and more. Kids and parents want to take back control over their online lives. They are demanding safeguards, means to disconnect, and a duty of care for social media. Our bill has strong bipartisan momentum. And it has growing support from young people whove seen Big Techs destruction, parents whove lost children, mental health experts, and public interest advocates. Its an idea whose time has come.
TheKidsOnlineSafety Actprovides young peopleand parents withthe tools,safeguards,and transparencythey needto protect againstonlineharms.The bill requiressocial media platformsto putthe well-being ofchildren first,ensuring an environment that is safe by default.Thelegislation requires independent audits byexperts and academic researchers to ensurethat social media platforms aretakingmeaningfulsteps toaddressriskstokids.
Blackburn and Blumenthal first introduced theKidsOnlineSafety Act in February 2022 followingreportingand after spearheading a series of five subcommittee hearings with social media companies and advocates on the repeated failures by tech giants to protectkidson their platforms and about the dangerskidsfaceonline. In July 2022, theKidsOnline Safety Act passed the Commerce Committee on a unanimous, 28-0 vote.
The Kids Online Safety Act has been cosponsored by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ben Ray Lujn (D-N.M.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.).More cosponsors may be added during todays session.
TheKids Online Safety Actis supported by hundreds of advocacy and technology groups, including Common Sense Media, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Compass, Eating Disorders Coalition, Fairplay, Mental Health America, and Digital Progress Institute.
TheKidsOnlineSafety Act:
The one-page summary of the bill can befoundhere,the section-by-section summary can befoundhere, and the full text of the Senate bill can befoundhere.
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Blackburn, Blumenthal Introduce Bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act - Marsha Blackburn
