Shaheen-Backed Kids Online Safety Act Passes Senate with Overwhelming Bipartisan Support, Would Hold Big Tech Accountable and Safeguard Youth Online
(Washington, DC) – In a 91-3 vote, the U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act—bipartisan legislation cosponsored by U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies—to protect kids’ health and well-being online by holding Big Tech companies accountable and safeguarding children from dangerous online content and behavior.
“For too long, Big Tech has put profits above all else and failed to protect kids online. Today’s strong bipartisan vote makes clear that we won’t stand idly by while kids’ mental health and well-being suffer, and we will take action to hold Big Tech companies accountable for toxic, damaging and addictive online content,” said Shaheen. “If signed into law, this legislation would give parents the tools needed to shield their families from the dangerous—and in many cases life-threatening—harms of online platforms. I urge my colleagues in the House to swiftly pass this bill and get it to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.”
Last year, the Surgeon General issued a new advisory documenting the harms social media platforms can have on the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. Among the alarming findings were that 64 percent of adolescents are “often” or “sometimes” exposed to hate-based content through social media and that social media can perpetuate body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls.
The Shaheen-backed Kids Online Safety Act provides families with the tools needed to safeguard children against threats to their health and well-being online. Specifically, the bipartisan bill requires social media platforms to provide minors the ability to protect their information, disable addictive product features and opt out of personalized algorithmic recommendations, as well as gives parents and schools a new dedicated channel to report harms to kids.
Additionally, the Kids Online Safety Act holds Big Tech companies accountable for their role in protecting kids by creating a duty for online platforms to prevent and mitigate specific dangers to minors in their product designs, including suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation and advertisements for illegal products. The bipartisan bill also requires social media platforms to perform an annual independent audit that assesses the risks to minors and determines whether the platform is taking meaningful steps to prevent those harms.
Shaheen, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Chair of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee, has long championed efforts to strengthen mental health access and resources for Granite State families and crack down on illicit online activity by holding social media companies accountable. Last year, Shaheen introduced and passed through the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee the Cooper Davis Act with U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), bipartisan legislation to crack down on online drug sales through social media.
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