By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed a pair of children’s online safety bills with strong bipartisan support.
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), and the Children’s and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) represent the most significant Congressional action in decades to protect children online.
“I am so happy to see that these bills are making progress. Voices are being heard from all of the parents and the advocates, and it’s making a change and that is saving lives,” said Jennifer Buta. “I get messages all the time- ‘My child heard your child’s story, and I believe that they’re still here because we heard about your son.’”
Passage in the Senate is a win for parents, like Jennifer Buta, who have been advocating for protection online and accountability for social media companies. In March 2022, Buta’s son, Jordan DeMay, died by suicide after becoming the victim of sexual extortion, or “sextortion,” one of the many dangerous trends increasing on social media.
“Kids who have died by suicide after cyberbullying or after being sextorted, kids who have attempted dangerous viral challenges that have gone horribly wrong and they’ve died just because they want to do what every kid wants to do, which is be popular online. Kids who have purchased drugs over Snapchat, that were laced with fentanyl and ended up being lethal,” said Josh Golin, the Executive Director of Fairplay.
Though social media can be used to connect and communicate in a positive way, there is a dark, dangerous side to social media- especially for children.
“Because so many of the design features are there just to make money off of kids, to keep them online as long as possible and those same design features often make kids less safe and more vulnerable to predators,” said Golin.
Golin added that KOSA and COPPA would provide significant, overdue protections for minors. KOSA calls for better protection for children and teens under 17-years-old. It would also give guardians more control over a minor’s use of a social media platform.
COPPA 2.0 would update and expand privacy protections to teens for the first time. It would bar targeted advertisements for children and limit data collection, which Golin says is fueling dangerous algorithms for minors.
“All of that data is also used to try and addict kids to keep them online even longer,” said Golin.
Golin said there are also transparency requirements that would force companies to report on the harms taking place on their platforms. Golin believes it can be a real incentive to “getting them to clean up their mess.”
“Making these companies address the fact that their algorithms are actually, actively connecting predators to kids, I think will go a long way,” said Golin. “Taken together, these are really groundbreaking protections that would make the U.S. a leader in protecting children online,” said Golin.
If the bills are passed by the House and signed by President Joe Biden, social media companies would essentially be tasked with “a duty of care” to prevent dangerous trends and other harmful effects on their platforms.
“If they don’t adhere to that duty of care, there’ll be a consequence. They’ll be subjected to investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and those companies can be held accountable,” said Sen. Bob Casey (D- PA), one of 91 senators voting in favor of the bills.
The 91-3 vote demonstrates a rare example of bipartisanship during an election year.
“This is overwhelmingly bipartisan in the Senate, which you know is rare. I hope that the House will act as expeditiously as possible,” said Sen. Casey.
“This is one thing that both parties agree on, allowing social media companies to go unchecked is really harmful to children,” said Golin.
Some organizations are opposed to KOSA. They say it restricts young peoples’ right to learn and access information.
“KOSA compounds nationwide attacks on young peoples’ right to learn and access information, on and offline,” said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU. “As state legislatures and school boards across the country impose book bans and classroom censorship laws, the last thing students and parents need is another act of government censorship deciding which educational resources are appropriate for their families. The House must block this dangerous bill before it’s too late,” Leventoff added.
It’s unclear whether House leaders plan to run the bill as written when they return to Washington in September.
“Letting COSA and COPPA collect dust in the House would be an awful mistake. And a gut punch to the brave, wonderful parents who have worked so hard to reach this point,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D- NY).
“I have to keep pushing forward and hope for positive change that saves other lives,” said Buta. “This is about saving lives. This is a bipartisan issue. There are no politics involved in keeping kids safe online.”