12.04.24

Cantwell Urges House GOP to Stand Up to Tech Companies & Protect Children from Social Media Harms

Kids Online Privacy Bills would give parents new tools to protect their kids online & ban targeted online advertising to children under 17; Common sense protections have been stalled in the House for months after passing Senate 91-3

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, joined Ranking Member Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) -- authors of bipartisan bills to protect children online – in writing to House Republican Leaders urging them to pass the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA) package before the end of the year. The legislation to protect children from increasing harms caused by social media has languished in the House for months after overwhelmingly passing the Senate, 91-3, in July.

“While the internet and digital tools have helped kids connect with others and the world around them, these benefits have come at a profound cost—our children are experiencing emotional, mental, and physical harm from their use of digital platforms,” the senators wrote in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise. “Studies show the more time youth spend on social media, the greater the risk they will suffer from poor mental health, disordered eating, and diminished sleep quality.  These risks are multiplied because social media platforms are designed to be addictive, so that kids will spend more time online.”

The KOSPA package combines two key pieces of legislation. The first is the Markey-Cassidy Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), which updates the original COPPA passed in 1998. This legislation bans online companies from collecting personal information from users under 17 years old without their consent and creates an eraser button to eliminate personal information online. The second component is the Blumenthal-Blackburn Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which provides children and parents with the tools, safeguards, and transparency to protect against online harms, establishes a duty of care for online platforms, and requires the most protective settings for kids by default.

“KOSPA proves that Congress can set aside politics and act decisively when our children are at stake,” the letter continued. “We ask that you join the 91 United States Senators who put the well-being of our children ahead of tech companies and bring KOSPA to the House floor for a vote.”

Read the full letter HERE.