Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on May 2 announced the introduction of legislation to make social media platforms conform to stricter safety regulations regarding children.
The Kids Online Safety Act also mandates independent audits by experts and academic researchers to ensure that social media platforms are taking meaningful steps to address risks to kids.
“Over the last two years, Senator Blumenthal and I have met with countless parents, psychologists, and pediatricians who are all in agreement that children are suffering at the hands of online platforms,” said Blackburn.
“Big Tech has proven to be incapable of appropriately protecting our children, and it’s time for Congress to step in. The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act not only requires social media companies to make their platforms safer by default, but it provides parents with the tools they need to protect their children online.”
Among its provisions, the Kids Online Safety Act requires social media platforms to provide minors with options to protect their information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of algorithmic recommendations. Platforms must enable the strongest settings by default.
The bill also gives parents new controls to help support their children and identify harmful behaviors. Parents and children will have a dedicated channel to report harm to kids on the platform.
The Kids Online Safety Act creates a responsibility for social media platforms to prevent and mitigate harm to young people, such as the promotion of suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and unlawful products for minors.
Additionally, the bill requires the businesses to perform an annual independent audit that assesses the risks to minors, their compliance with this legislation, and whether the platform is taking meaningful steps to prevent those harms.
The Kids Online Safety Act would additionally provide academic and public interest organizations with access to critical datasets from social media platforms to foster research regarding harm to the safety and well-being of minors.
“Record levels of hopelessness and despair—a national teen mental health crisis—have been fueled by black box algorithms featuring eating disorders, bullying, suicidal thoughts, and more,” Blumenthal said, according to the press release.
“Kids and parents want to take back control over their online lives. They are demanding safeguards, means to disconnect, and a duty of care for social media. Our bill has strong bipartisan momentum.”
The lawmaker cited growing support from young people and parents alike, as well as mental health experts and public interest advocates.
