CT-led bill aims to protect kids online. Will it clear Congress?
As revelations about the harmful toll of social media on children and teens have become public over the past few years, Congress sought to amp up the pressure on Big Tech and pass legislation for the first time in decades to protect minors and hold companies accountable.
Some of those efforts “came heartbreakingly close” to materializing at the end of the year but ultimately faded and got punted to the new session of Congress that started in January.
One of those bills, co-authored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., focuses on the safety aspect and gives children and parents greater control over what online content can be viewed.
The issue came to a head when Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before Congress in 2021 about the harmful effects of social media on children and teenagers and how tech giants kept users engaged to turn profits. Lawmakers like Blumenthal believe the growing bipartisan support on this issue could lead to the passage of tech reforms this time around — possibly this year.
Blumenthal is renewing his push for the Kids Online Safety Act with co-author Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. Over the years, Blumenthal has recounted stories he has heard from parents in Connecticut whose children viewed “extreme” videos on the social media platform TikTok about weight loss, disordered eating and self-harm practices.
Online protections and privacy appear to be a rare issue of bipartisan agreement in Congress, especially in a divided government where there will likely be little compromise with a GOP-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate. But like many efforts on Capitol Hill, it can take a while to navigate the legislative process.
When the lawmakers reintroduce the bill, Blumenthal hopes Congress can quickly act on it, since the Senate is mostly focused on confirming judicial nominations.
“We should do it quickly, because we have the time right now. We have judges, which is important to do, but we don’t have legislation right now to put on the floor, and I’m absolutely convinced that this legislation will pass overwhelmingly,” Blumenthal said in an interview.
“Kids deserve protection. Parents need tools. Both parents and kids have to be given control back over their lives,” he added. “My basic belief is there’s no real partisan divide on consumer protection.”
Tech companies largely avoided major reforms when Congress negotiated its end-of-the-year package to fund the federal government through September. Other than a measure to ban TikTok from government devices, lawmakers were unsuccessful in a last-minute lobbying effort to get into the spending bill both the Kids Online Safety Act and a bill that would update an existing law to extend privacy to users between ages 13 and 16.
Tim Wu, a former White House official who worked on tech antitrust matters, blamed Senate GOP leadership. But Democrats ultimately did not include it in the “omnibus” spending bill.
“We had a last chance in the omnibus. We put on the table children’s privacy, children’s protection and tech antitrust as well,” Wu said in a January podcast episode of…
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