Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is determined to push the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) through the Senate.
Mr. Schumer, along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), initiated discussions on June 20 to emphasize the significance of KOSA and their commitment as co-sponsors.
“I have met personally with families who have suffered, witnessed their heartbreaking stories, and I am fully dedicated to collaborating with them to see KOSA successfully passed,” stated Mr. Schumer on the Senate floor.
“Last month, I formulated a plan to achieve unanimous consent and a time agreement on the floor to pass KOSA. I actively resolved issues and addressed unintended consequences of the bill, which reduced opposition, but there are still some holdouts,” he added.
Despite the remaining opposition, Mr. Schumer emphasized the need to explore alternative legislative pathways to ensure the bill’s passage.
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“We are writing to you as parents who have suffered the loss of children due to online dangers and are determined to prevent other families from enduring what we have gone through,” the group stated.
“For the past two years, we have tirelessly advocated for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which aims to hold social media companies accountable for their intentional design choices that harm young individuals.”
Mr. Blumenthal emphasized the bill’s importance in addressing the stories of numerous affected parents and young individuals.
“The bill is a response to the countless stories we’ve heard from grieving parents and young people about the negative impact these platforms have had on their lives,” Mr. Blumenthal said. The bill, introduced by Mr. Blumenthal, has garnered 68 co-sponsors.
Mr. Schumer highlighted bipartisan support, particularly with Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) assistance, which has facilitated unanimous passage of the bill through the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Overall, KOSA aims to establish legal standards for protecting minors and requires platforms to more effectively address online dangers.
While some groups have expressed opposition, arguing that the bill could lead to increased surveillance and restricted access to information, Mr. Blumenthal disputes these claims, stating that the bill does not aim to censor or block content.
Additionally, the bill does not amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides immunity to online platforms for third-party content, thus ensuring that platforms are not unduly liable for content shared by users.
What’s the Bill About?
A key provision of the bill is the establishment of a “duty of care” for covered platforms, requiring them to implement features to prevent or mitigate various dangers to minors, including sexual exploitation, substance abuse, suicide promotion, and advertising of products like alcohol and tobacco.
The bill also mandates platforms to protect minors’ personal data by defaulting to the strongest privacy settings. It gives minors options to safeguard their information and opt out of personalized recommendations.
Parents will be granted new controls to identify harmful behaviors and report them through a dedicated channel to protect children.
Platforms will undergo independent audits to assess their impact on the well-being of minor users, helping parents and policymakers evaluate their efforts to address risks to children.
“This isn’t safety, it’s censorship,” EFF states, urging opponents of the bill to contact Congressional representatives and voice their concerns.
The group also warns that platforms may adopt stringent filtering measures to avoid liability for harmful content, potentially blocking vast amounts of information from minors and extending restrictions to legal speech.
Moreover, he asserts that the bill does not impose excessive liability on platforms, as it maintains the existing protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Parents Plead for Help
The letter from ParentsSOS underscores the parents’ resolve to prevent further tragedies and references meetings where Mr. Schumer reaffirmed his commitment to holding a vote by June 20, though that did not materialize.
The parents highlighted the bipartisan backing for KOSA, pointing out that it has sufficient support to overcome a filibuster and be approved in the Senate.
“There is a widespread acknowledgment that this issue needs to be dealt with immediately—just this week, the United States Surgeon General urged Congress to take action to counteract the negative health effects of social media on children,” stated the parents group.
“It is time to mandate a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, indicating that social media is linked to significant mental health risks for adolescents,” he expressed in an opinion piece featured in The New York Times on June 17.
He also suggested that labels similar to those on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages could enhance awareness among social media users and their caregivers.
“A surgeon general’s warning label, requiring action from Congress, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proven safe,” he added.
