Senate Passes Bill to Protect Kids Online, but Will it Work?
By Movieguide® Contributor
The Senate just passed two bills that will strengthen privacy protections for children online as well as cut back on targeted ads aimed at young people.
The Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act were passed with overwhelming support, 91-3.
“This is why we came here — to get things done and do it in a bipartisan way that literally will save lives,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said.
Blumenthal partnered with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. to author the Kids Online Safety Act.
“What we’re doing is giving parents and kids the tools to disconnect from harmful content, bullying, eating disorders, stuff that really hurts them, and also impose a duty of care on Big Tech that for too long has said ‘trust us’ and betrayed that trust,” he continued. “And now, they’re going to have to comply with a law that imposes a duty on them to mitigate or prevent harm.”
The bills will now go on to the House of Representatives for a vote.
If the package is signed into law, a “duty of care” would be created for companies to “take reasonable measures to prevent and mitigate harms to children and teens, and give parents and guardians more control over how their children use social media platforms. They also create privacy protections for those under 17, prohibit targeted advertising for young people and allow parents the power to erase content,” per ABC News.
In a statement about the potential House vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “I am looking forward to reviewing the details of the legislation that comes out of the Senate. Parents should have greater control and the necessary tools to protect their kids online. I am committed to working to find consensus in the House.”
President Joe Biden called the bill package a “crucial bipartisan step forward” and urged the House to “send this bill to my desk for signature without delay.”
“There is undeniable evidence that social media and other online platforms contribute to our youth mental health crisis,” he said in a statement. “Today our children are subjected to a wild west online and our current laws and regulations are insufficient to prevent this. It is past time to act.”
Movieguide® previously reported on the Kids Online Safety Act:
After Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen exposed a series of reports called the Facebook Files, lawmakers took legal action to protect children online.
Facebook’s internal documents and testimony of Haugen revealed the dangerous business model of Meta’s social media platform and its specific danger to young users.
The latest proposed bill, called the Kids Online Safety Act, seeks to hold tech companies accountable for harmful business strategies, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) said that the bill would require companies to offer transparent reports of how their platform could contribute to the harm of minors and provide tools to help parents keep their children safe.
“In hearings over the last year, Senator Blumenthal and I have heard countless stories of physical and emotional damage affecting young users, and Big Tech’s unwillingness to change,” Sen. Blackburn said.
The bill would also force Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and others to use strict default settings and give more control back to the user regarding what they see online.
“We’ve had a kind of Wild West mentality,” Margaret Spellings, a commission member and former U.S. education secretary under President George W. Bush. “That’s borne fruit, but it’s time to have more control.”
