A bipartisan coalition of more than 30 attorney generals is urging Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) this year, stating the legislation will “establish better safeguards for minors online.”
In a letter sent to leadership offices in the House and Senate, the 32 attorneys general said they are concerned about the negative impacts “prolific internet usage” has on children.
“We are acutely aware of the threats minors face on social media. Many social media platforms target minors, resulting in a national youth mental health catastrophe,” the letter, led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti (R), stated.
“These platforms make their products addictive to minor users, and then profit from selling minor user data to advertisers,” the letter continued. “These platforms fail to disclose the addicting nature of their products, nor the harms associated with increased social media use. Instead, minor users receive endless tailored and toxic content.”
The letter comes as KOSA faces an uncertain future in the House, where leadership has expressed concerns the bill would censor conservative voices or overstep authority.
KOSA, which passed the Senate in a 91-3 vote last summer, is intended to boost online privacy and safety for children. It would create regulations for the kinds of features tech and social media companies offer kids online and aims to reduce the addictive nature and mental health impact of these platforms.
To make their case for KOSA, the attorneys general pointed to the investigations and lawsuits led by many of their offices against Meta and TikTok for alleged harm to minors.
More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia filed suit against TikTok last month, alleging the platform exploits and harms young users and “deceives” the public about these dangers.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is similarly facing state-led suits accusing the tech giant of knowingly designing and deploying harmful features on its platforms.
The attorneys general said congressional passage of KOSA will aid state-level efforts by mandating social media platforms have the strongest safety settings by default and allowing kids and their parents or guardians to opt out of the “most addictive product features” and algorithmic recommendations.
The bill would also give parents new controls to “support their children and identify harmful behaviors,” and improve their reporting abilities, the state leaders noted.
“This is a great improvement over the earlier version that did not provide for state enforcement. The states have been consistently acting to vigorously protect kids from online dangers using their existing consumer protection authority, and we look forward to further collaboration,” the letter wrote.
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), one of the signatories, emphasized KOSA will help states introduce more safeguards when necessary.
“With KOSA, we can establish a foundation of protections for kids nationwide, but we must also ensure states are empowered to introduce more expansive safeguards for their kids as needed,” she said in a release Monday. “Taking on addictive social media is not a partisan issue – it’s about protecting kids and ensuring that government is able to act effectively at all levels.”
James helped push a state bill to limit “addictive” social media feeds for kids past the finish line last summer, and is overseeing the rulemaking process for the law to take effect.
While the bill advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee last month, there are only weeks remaining in the lame-duck session and members in both parties have expressed issues with its language, for varied reasons.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Punchbowl News last month he likes the concept of KOSA, though the details of the Senate-passed version are “very problematic.”
Meanwhile, some lawmakers were concerned with the language of KOSA’s “duty of care” provision. As written in the Senate version, the provision would require platforms to design and implement features for minors to prevent and reduce harm, such as those caused by content promoting suicide and eating disorders.
The House version that advanced out of committee last month included amendments changing this provision.
