Klobuchar Opening Remarks on Protecting Kids Online

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, delivered the following opening statement while co-chairing the subcommittee hearing titled "From the Courtroom to Congress: Why Landmark Social Media Verdicts Demand Federal Action to Protect Kids Online."

A rough transcript of Klobuchar's full opening statement is available below and a video can be downloaded here.

Senator Klobuchar: Thank you very much, Chair Blackburn, for holding today's hearing, and thank you to our witnesses for being here. Ms. Bogard, thank you very much for being here. I'm sure this is difficult. And Bridgette Norring, who I've gotten to know very well, she's from Minnesota, and in your son's name, have just been an incredible advocate for other families, both nationally and in our state. Thank you.

So here's the issue, as the Chairman explained, social media company algorithms are designed to keep people online as long as possible and collect information and then sell as many advertisements as possible. And sadly, all of that has also included kids and very young kids.

According to a study, social media platforms generated $11 billion in revenue in 2022 from advertising directed at children and teenagers, including nearly $2 billion in ad profits derived from users age 12 and under.

To protect the profits, the companies often design their platforms in ways that actually increase teen addiction. And then, of course, these platforms become prey to predators, people that are pushing sexual exploitation, people that are pushing harmful content from eating disorders, and provide venues, as we know, in several cases, for dealers to sell deadly drugs like fentanyl.

One parent told me that her child's social media use was like a water faucet on full blast - the water was over flowing while she is sitting out there with a mop trying to wipe it up, trying to figure out how to get her child off of one platform, going to her eldest child to try to get advice on what to do when they find a new platform. And for so many parents like the two that are before us today to testify, there are permanent, tragic consequences.

Bridgette lost her teenage son after he took a fentanyl-laced pill that he believed was Percocet purchased through social media. Joanne lost her teenage son after he tried the blackout challenge that he saw online.

That's why parents, victims, and state attorneys general have been standing up to hold these platforms accountable and protect others from enduring the pain that they have gone through themselves. In the face of their grief, they are suing social media companies for the harms their platforms have caused.

We've had two significant cases just recently, in a bellwether case that may shape how thousands of others are resolved: the California jury found Meta and YouTube were negligent in how they designed their platforms and liable for damaging the mental health of a young girl who frequently felt that she simply couldn't break away. The state of New Mexico won its case against Meta, alleging that the company, quote, knowingly exposes children to the twin harms of sexual exploitation and mental health harm - $375 million in damages.

These courtroom victories are incredibly important, but they cannot be an excuse for complacency. We must continue to empower victims, opening the courtroom door. I've been a long-time supporter of, after finally deciding that we wouldn't be able to pass a bunch of the laws I wanted to pass, of getting rid of Section 230, or at least reforming it. And even with some of these victories, the companies have continued to block changes in Congress. Meta even used its power as a dominant provider of online advertising to hide legitimate advertisements by lawyers informing parents and kids of the harms of social media.

Senator Cruz and I have teamed up and passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act. We're literally coming up this next week on the time at which the platforms will be held accountable if they don't take either real images of non-consensual porn or AI-created images down. We already have criminal prosecutions against those that have spread this trash, that have been successful.

Congress also needs to pass, and Senator Blackburn and I were together with Senator Blumenthal and Cruz yesterday with a group of parents, the Senate's version of the Kids Online Safety Act, KOSA, to ensure that the platforms design their products to prevent and mitigate harms. Senator Blumenthal and Blackburn's bill, it passed the Senate on a 91-3 vote last Congress, and it needs to be taken up and passed immediately.

There are vital issues to get right, but we cannot allow children to continue to be in harm's way every time they pick up a smartphone or tablet while we drag our feet on reform. It is time to stop talking about the problem and do something.

I look forward to hearing about the witnesses. Thank you.

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