VIDEO: As Millions of Florida Students Return to School, Senator Moody is Seeking Greater Protection for Children from Online Threats

WASHINGTON, D.C.-As millions of Florida students head back to school, Senator Ashley Moody is fighting to protect children from online threats. Senator Moody is championing the Kids Online Safety Act, legislation that would help guard youth from harm on the internet such as online predators, drug dealers, and addictive algorithms. The Kids Online Safety Act just passed out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and will advance to the full Senate floor.

"As millions of Florida families get back into the rhythm of a new school year, it is important that we keep our children safe not just at school, but online as well. We are continuing to see risks follow young people into the digital spaces where they spend so much of their time, that's why I'm fighting to protect our children through the Kids Online Safety Act. This legislation would help guard our youth from online threats like predators and drug dealers," said Senator Ashley Moody. "To all of Florida's students, parents and teachers, I hope you have a safe and successful start to the new school year."

BACKGROUND:

• Like millions of Florida families, Senator Moody is preparing to send her son back to school.
• This bill recently passed out of the Senate Commerce committee and is headed for a full Senate vote.
• Studies show the correlation between time spent on social media platforms and declining mental health. The Kids Online Safety Act is crucial legislation that protects children from online harm. Key provisions of the bill include:
  • Mandatory default safety settings: Requiring platforms to automatically enable their strongest safety protections for minors rather than burying these features behind opt-in screens;
  • Addiction prevention: Allowing young users and their parents to disable manipulative design features and algorithmic recommendations that keep children endlessly scrolling; and
  • Parental empowerment: Providing parents with new tools to identify harmful behaviors and improved capabilities to report dangerous content.
• Learn more about the bill here.
• Senator Moody first called for Congress to pass the legislation as former Florida Attorney General. As Florida's newest U.S. Senator, Moody is a cosponsor of the legislation.
• Senator Moody has long been committed to protecting children online. As the former Florida Attorney General, Senator Moody launched investigations into Meta and Instagram, as well as took legal action, over the platform's algorithms and practices that sought to addict children to using the service and then profit off the children's data.
• As Attorney General, Senator Moody also called Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify to the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking about Meta applications allowing traffickers to prey on victims using the platform. Moody also released the Online Safety Toolkit to help parents talk to children about safe internet use and to avoid online predators and traffickers.

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