Senate To Vote On Bills Regulating Social Media For Kids

WASHINGTON ― The Senate is set to vote this week on legislation designed to make social media companies take more responsibility in shielding children from harmful material.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Tuesday that the Senate would vote on the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and the Kids Online Safety Act. The latter bill, known as KOSA, has overwhelming bipartisan support and nearly 70 co-sponsors, meaning it will easily pass.

“Unlike decades past, ensuring our kids’ safety today means ensuring their online safety, to protect kids from online bullying and exploitation and other risks to their mental health,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.

“Social media has helped hundreds of millions of people to connect in new ways over the last two decades, but there are also new and sometimes serious health risks that come along with those benefits,” he said. “We cannot set these risks aside. On this issue, we desperately need to catch up.”

The legislation lacks similar support in the Republican-controlled House. In a statement, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) suggested Tuesday that he was open to it, though he did not commit to holding a vote.

“I am looking forward to reviewing the details of the legislation that comes out of the Senate,” Johnson said in an emailed statement to HuffPost. “Parents should have greater control and the necessary tools to protect their kids online.”

Among other things, KOSA would create a “duty of care” standard for social media and video platforms to proactively shield minors from harmful material, such as content that promotes eating disorders, and allow young users to opt out of algorithmic feeds that constantly serve up recommended content. The new rules would be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general.

The bill’s critics include tech-industry figures, the American Civil Liberties Union, and some LGBTQ+ groups, who worry that Republican-led states would use the law to clamp down on online content for trans teens.

“KOSA remains a dangerous bill that would allow the government to decide what types of information can be shared and read online,” the ACLU said in February when senators released the latest version of the legislation. The group argued that the “risk of legal repercussions would still incentivize an enormous number of websites, apps, and online platforms to filter and block protected speech.”

The bill’s most influential supporters are a group of grieving parents who have been visiting Capitol Hill all year and pressing lawmakers to support the legislation. Schumer joined the bill’s lead sponsors, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), at a press conference Tuesday with about a dozen parents who blamed social media for their children’s deaths.

“People who are driven by a cause can make things happen,” Blumenthal said. “They moved the United States Senate.”

Blackburn told HuffPost she’s had conversations with her House Republican counterparts about the legislation: “We have visited with House leadership, we look forward to them moving it forward very soon.”

Katherine Nugent, a math teacher who lives in Washington, D.C., said her 15-year-old daughter, Isabel, was in therapy for suicidal ideation but died in October after being inundated with content that encouraged people to take their own lives.

Nugent told HuffPost she connected with Fairplay for Kids, a group that advocates against tech companies marketing their products toward children. She said she’s met with more than a dozen House offices to drum up support for the House version of KOSA.

“I believe KOSA would have really helped, because she wouldn’t have been fed the content,” Nugent said of her daughter.

If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention.

If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for support.