ICYMI: Blumenthal on Weak House KIDS Act: It’s Not Just Insulting; It is Absolutely Dangerous

[WASHINGTON, DC] - On Friday, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), author of the Senate Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), and U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, were joined by families who have suffered devastating losses due to their children's use of social media in a virtual press conference.

The Senators and families outlined why the House package of bills released just days ago weakens the strong protections overwhelmingly passed by the Senate and fails the families who have been calling for years on Congress to protect children online. House leaders are expected to ram through the bill on suspension this afternoon. The effort is opposed by dozens of kids online safety organizations, including Design It For Us, ParentsTogether Action, Young People's Alliance, Alliance for a Better Future, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, and more.

"This bill has no real duty of care. In other words, it has no standard to hold accountable the Big Tech companies that can drive addictive, toxic content through their algorithms and other technologies at children. We all know their business model, which is to present as much addictive content as possible to keep more eyeballs for longer periods of time, which means more advertisement revenue - and the more enraging, or saddening, or otherwise addicting material, the more money they can make," Blumenthal said.

"If you make a toaster and it blows up in somebody's kitchen, because of a defect, you're liable. If you make a car that drives into a tree because of defective brakes, you can be held responsible in court. If you're Big Tech, you're off the hook. We want to hold them accountable. And that's why the duty of care and non-preemption are so important. The duty of care in the House bill is completely absent. There is none. The bill also removed obligations for companies to address suicide, eating disorders, and other mental health harms. It even slashed the numbers, or the set companies, that are covered by the bill. It's not just insulting; it is absolutely dangerous."

Blumenthal and Cantwell were joined on the call by five parents who have all lost children as a result of social media:

Toney and Brandy Roberts, parents of Englyn, are from New Iberia, Louisiana. Englyn died by suicide at the age of 14 as she was struggling with her mental health during the COVID lockdown in 2020. After her death, Toney and Brandy found that a friend had sent her a video on Instagram showing a woman participating in a simulated hanging.

Lori Schott, mother of Annalee, is from Merino, Colorado. Annalee died by suicide at the age of 18. After her death, Lori and her husband Avery found video after video of young people sharing - and at times glamorizing - self-harm and self-hate on Annalee's phone. Many had tens of thousands of likes or more.

Kristin Bride, mother of Carson, is from Portland, Oregon. Carson died by suicide at age 16 after being the victim of vicious cyberbullying by his "Snapchat friends" - high school classmates - who were using the anonymous apps Yolo and LMK on Snapchat to hide their identities. The last search on his phone before Carson ended his life was for hacks to find out the identities of his abusers.

Tricia Maciejewski, mother of Levi, is from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. On the last day of summer, Levi was connected to a predator on Instagram. He was 13-years-old. Meta provided the predator with his follower and following list, and after they threatened to send his compromising photo to everyone he knew, Levi took his life.

"They really are the heroes of this effort, including the parents on this call. I want to join them in thanking you, from the bottom of my heart. You have been such effective advocates," Blumenthal said. "I am determined that we stand strong with the parents who are on this call and many, many others who are now mobilizing because they want a real Kids Online Safety Act, not a gift to Mark Zuckerburg."

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1. KOSA