Senators reintroduce Kids Online Safety Act

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal were joined by U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday in introducing the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act. Last July, the Senate approved KOSA – the first major reform to the tech industry since 1998 – in an overwhelming 91-3 bipartisan vote. “Big Tech platforms have shown time and time again they will always prioritize their bottom line over the safety of our children, and I’ve heard too many heartbreaking stories to count from parents who have lost a child because these companies have refused to make their platforms safer by default,” said Senator Blackburn. “We would never allow our children to be exposed to pornography, sexual exploitation, drugs, alcohol, and traffickers in the physical space, but these platforms are allowing this every single day in the virtual space. Congress must not cave to the wills and whims of Big Tech, and we must not be bullied into submission. Now is the time to stand up and protect future generations from harm by passing KOSA.” Last month, bombshell reporting revealed Meta‘s (META) latest failure to protect minors from harm after AI-powered digital chatbots engaged in sexually explicit discussions with underaged users on its platforms. Following this report, Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal sent a letter demanding accountability. The bill text introduced on Wednesday was first announced in December and is the same language approved by the Senate with several changes to further make clear that KOSA would not censor, limit, or remove any content from the internet, and it does not give the FTC or state Attorneys General the power to bring lawsuits over content or speech. Other publicly traded companies in the space include Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL), Pinterest (PINS), Reddit (RDDT), and Snap (SNAP).