Hirono Joins More than 60 Colleagues in Supporting Legislation to Keep Children Safe Online
~ The bipartisan bill is now cosponsored by a total of 62 U.S. Senators, with new changes to strengthen the broadly supported legislation announced ~
WASHINGTON, DC – Following the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis,” U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Judiciary Committee, joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and 59 colleagues in cosponsoring the updated text of the Kids Online Safety Act.
The Kids Online Safety Act provides young people and their parents with better tools to protect against online harms by holding Big Tech accountable, requiring social media platforms to prioritize children’s well-being and to help ensure that they foster a safe environment online.
Specifically, this legislation:
- Requires social media platforms to provide minors with options to protect their information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of personalized algorithmic recommendations;
- Gives parents new controls to help protect their children and spot harmful behaviors, and provides parents and educators with a dedicated channel to report harmful behavior;
- Creates a responsibility for online platforms to prevent and mitigate specific dangers to minors, including promotion of suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and advertisements for certain illegal products; and
- Ensures that parents and policymakers know whether online platforms are taking meaningful steps to address online dangers to kids by requiring independent audits and research into how these platforms impact the well-being of kids and teens.
In addition to Senator Hirono, the bill is now cosponsored by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Todd Young (R-IN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mark Warner (D-VA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Peter Welch (D-VT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jim Risch (R-ID), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Katie Britt (R-AL), Bob Casey (D-PA), Rick Scott (R-FL), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Joe Manchin (D-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Carper (D-DE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Ben Cardin (D-MD), James Lankford (R-OK), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), John Thune (R-SD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Josh Hawley (R-MO), with U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Angus King (I-ME), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) newly cosponsoring the legislation.
The Kids Online Safety Act is strongly supported by a broad coalition of parents who have tragically lost their children or whose kids have been severely harmed by Big Tech, young people who want to regain control over their online lives, and hundreds of advocacy groups and experts who study and see the negative effects of social media firsthand in their communities. The growing group of supporters includes the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Nintendo of America, Christian Camp and Conference Association, Microsoft, The Foundation United, Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS), Snap, Street Grace, and X.
The full text of the legislation is available here.
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