Senators hoping to pass legislation to make social media platforms safer for children are inching closer to their long-desired goal, rolling out changes to their bill to ease lingering concerns and securing support from more than half of the chamber.
Lead sponsors
“This overwhelming bipartisan support for the Kids Online Safety Act,” Blumenthal and Blackburn said in a release first obtained by Bloomberg Government, “reflects the powerful voices of young people and parents who want Congress to act.”
It’s one of the leading congressional proposals
The massive Senate support for the measure represents a rare feat in an increasingly divided Congress over a hotly debated issue, and Schumer’s approval, notably, raises the prospects of passage. Lawmakers face a packed legislative calendar but proponents of the bill are hopeful the legislation will be brought to the Senate floor in due time.
“Children and teens have been subjected to online harassment, bullying, and other harms for far too long. The Kids Online Safety Act will require social media companies to design their products with the safety of kids and teens in mind, provide parents tools to protect their kids and give families more options for managing and disconnecting from these platforms,” Schumer said. “I look forward to working on a bipartisan basis with Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn to advance this bill in the Senate.”
The new version, which was first obtained by Bloomberg Government, seeks to address long-running criticisms that the bill is a well-intended but flawed approach to keep kids safe online, although supporters of the measure have disputed the characterizations.
Opponents, which include digital rights advocates and technology trade associations, have argued that the bill would force social media companies to collect more personal data from their youngest users and over-moderate content out of fear of liability, threatening individual privacy and free speech online. Civil rights groups have also claimed the bill would empower state attorneys general to limit speech they deem harmful, warning that conservative officials could restrict content related to the LGBTQ+ community and reproductive health.
The new bill modifies what’s called a “duty of care” provision, which would require social media companies to keep their young users safe online. The updated language specifies that companies would be legally responsible to prevent harms to kids—such as eating disorders, violence, substance abuse, and sexual exploitation—that their platforms promote through design features like playing videos automatically or app notifications.
The revised bill also clarifies that the Federal Trade Commission, not state attorneys general, would enforce the duty of care provision. And in another new component, the legislation would preempt state laws.
Further, the legislation would require platforms to create safeguards to protect children’s data and limit platform design features that encourage more social media use. Parents would also be provided tools to manage their child’s time spent online and privacy settings. Those provisions would be enforced by state attorneys general.
The updated bill comes less than a month after senators grilled the chief executives of social media companies, including
Meta, X, TikTok CEOs Ripped by Senators Over Child Online Safety
“The recent watershed hearing with Big Tech CEOs showcased the urgent need for reform,” Blumenthal and Blackburn said Thursday. “With new changes to strengthen the bill and growing support, we should seize this moment to take action. We must listen to the kids, parents, experts, and advocates, and finally hold Big Tech accountable by passing the Kids Online Safety Act into law.”
The bipartisan Senate duo first introduced the bill two years ago and have unveiled several iterations since, though none have earned as much support as this latest version. The new changes were fueled partly by Senate Commerce Committee Chair
Cruz, a new co-sponsor, called the legislation “a serious and meaningful step toward empowering parents and protecting our kids from toxic content, bullying, sexual predators, and other online threats.”
“As the parent of teenagers, I hope my congressional colleagues will come together to pass this legislation to help address the crises of depression and suicide that children across the country are facing in part because of social media,” Cruz said.
A slew of advocacy groups, including Common Sense Media, American Psychological Association, and the Eating Disorders Coalition, have been rooting for the bill to pass. Josh Golin, executive director of kids’ online safety advocacy group Fairplay, expressed excitement over that possibility nearing.
“This bill is incredibly strong and would be game-changing in disrupting social media’s toxic business model and forcing them to prioritize the safety, well-being, and privacy of children,” Golin said in an interview. The additional Senate co-sponsors is a “testament to how this issue cuts across bipartisan lines and how parents have made this front and center in Washington,” he said.
“I understand floor time is crowded, but I think this makes an incredible case for why this bill belongs on the floor,” Golin added. “This went from being a hope to a real solid chance.”
Recently, a few tech companies, including Snap Inc. and
“Snap is proud to support the Kids Online Safety Act, and we believe the changes announced today further strengthen this bill,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “The safety of young people everywhere is an urgent priority, and we encourage our peers across the technology industry to support this important legislation.”
Still, some opponents say the latest changes are insufficient, signaling potential remaining hurdles.
“New bill text, same problems,” Adam Kovacevich, the head of tech trade group Chamber of Progress, said in a statement. “This bill still gives right-wing AGs extraordinary power to police online speech. And the bill still forces platforms to over-moderate and censor marginalized communities by creating sweeping liability. As federal courts have repeatedly held, the features of a platform are inextricably linked with its speech, and KOSA’s censorship of that speech runs headlong into the constitution.”
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