Schumer Announces Senate Floor Vote on Bills Protecting Children Online

Maurine Molak (L), Joann Bogard (2nd L), Deb Schmill (R), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in Washington on June 5, 2024. Courtesy of Joann Bogard

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has announced that he will bring two bills related to children’s online safety and privacy to a floor vote this week.

One of the bills, known as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), requires social media companies to take measures to prevent the spread of harmful content related to suicide, eating disorders, bullying, and drugs.

KOSA would also require tech companies to allow minors to limit the category of recommendations or opt out of personalized recommendation systems that facilitate infinite scrolling.

The other bill, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 2.0, prohibits social media platforms from collecting personal information without consent from users 13 to 16 years old and bans advertising targeting children and teens. It also requires tech companies to enable parents and their children to erase a child’s content or personal information.

Both bills passed the Senate Commerce Committee last year. The KOSA bill has 68 co-sponsors, and the COPPA 2.0 Act has 17 co-sponsors.

“Over the past few months, I’ve met with families from across the country who have gone through the worst thing a parent could endure—losing a child. Rather than retreating into the darkness of their loss, these families lit a candle for others with their advocacy,” Mr. Schumer said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“I am proud to work side-by-side with them and put on the floor legislation that I believe will pass and better protect our children from the negative risks of social media and other online platforms. It has been a long and daunting road to get this bill passed, which can change and save lives, but today, we are one monumental step closer to success.”

Maurine Molak, co-founder of David’s Legacy Foundation and Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS), spoke at the same press event. After losing her 16-year-old son to suicide after he experienced cyberbullying, she founded these organizations to advocate for social media companies to take more responsibility in preventing and mitigating online harm to children.

“KOSA would have saved my son David’s life, and I know it will save hundreds, maybe thousands, of other children, too,” Ms. Molak told reporters. “We are closer than we’ve ever been before to passing this bill. I urge every U.S. Senator to support KOSA and help make online spaces safer for our children.”

“We are elated that Leader Schumer is bringing KOSA to the floor for a vote this week. It’s our hope that it will pass quickly without any amendments and then will move through the House with the urgency that it deserves,” she told The Epoch Times before the media event.

Ms. Molak has met with Mr. Schumer twice this year. She and several others who have met with the senator previously told The Epoch Times that he was “very emotionally moved” and “eager to help.” Since then, he has been working on bringing the KOSA bill to a floor vote in the Senate.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee still needs to advance the KOSA bill in the lower chamber.