WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill Tuesday aimed at protecting children from dangerous online content, advancing the first major effort by Congress in decades to hold tech companies more accountable for the harm they cause.
The bill, which passed with 91 votes in favor and 3 against, was pushed by parents whose children had committed suicide after being cyberbullied or were harmed by online content. The bill would require companies to take appropriate measures to prevent harm on online platforms frequented by minors, require companies to exercise a “duty of care,” and generally require them to default to the most secure settings possible.
The House has yet to act on the bill, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has said he is “willing to work toward a consensus.” Supporters hope that the Senate’s strong support will encourage the House to act before the end of the legislative session in January.
The bill is designed to give kids, teens and parents “back control over their online lives,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, who co-sponsored the bill with Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. He said the message to big tech companies is “we no longer trust you to make decisions for us.”
The bill would be the first major tech regulation bill in years and could pave the way for other legislation, such as strengthening online privacy laws and setting standards for the expanded use of artificial intelligence. The idea that big tech companies should be subject to increased government scrutiny has long had bipartisan support, but there has been little agreement on how to do so. Congress passed a bill earlier this year asking China-based social media company TikTok to either force or block a sale, but that law only targeted one company.
“This is a good first step, but there’s much more to be done,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York.
If the Child Safety Bill becomes law, companies will be required to reduce harm to children, including bullying, violence, encouragement of suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation and advertising of illegal products such as drugs, tobacco and alcohol.
To do this, social media platforms must offer minors the option to protect their information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of personalized algorithmic recommendations, as well as restrict other users’ ability to communicate with children and limit features that “increase, maintain, or enhance usage” of the platforms, such as autoplaying videos and platform rewards.
Blumenthal and Blackburn say the idea is to make the platform “secure by design.”
“The message we’re sending to big tech companies is kids are not your commodity,” Blackburn said at a press conference as the Senate passed the bill. “Kids are not your profit tactics, and we’re going to protect kids in the virtual world.”
Some tech companies, including Microsoft, X and Snap, support the bill. Mehta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has not taken a stance.
Snap applauded the bill in a statement last week, saying “the safety and well-being of young people on Snapchat is our top priority.”
Blumenthal and Blackburn have sought to strike a balance between holding companies more responsible for what kids see online while preventing Congress from over-policing what people post, an effort to appease lawmakers in both parties who worry that regulation could infringe on free expression and make companies more vulnerable to lawsuits.
In addition to First Amendment concerns, some critics say the law could have negative effects on children who don’t have access to information about LGBTQ+ issues and reproductive rights, although the bill has been amended to address many of these criticisms, and major LGBTQ+ organizations have decided to support the proposed law.
The bill also includes amendments to the Children’s Privacy Act that would prohibit online companies from collecting personal information from users under the age of 13, raising the age to 17. It would also ban targeted advertising to teenagers and allow teens and parents to delete personal information about minors.
Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts introduced the original bill in 1998, the last year Congress passed a child online safety law, and worked with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana to revise it. Markey said the online space has “come a long way” since the original bill, but parents need new tools as teens struggle with their mental health.
While the bill languished for months, Blumenthal and Blackburn worked closely with parents of children victimized by social media, including cyberbullying, social media challenges, blackmail attempts, eating disorders, drug dealing and other potential dangers. At an emotional press conference last week, the parents said they were pleased the Senate had finally moved the bill forward.
Maureen Molak, the mother of a 16-year-old boy who committed suicide after “months of relentless and threatening cyberbullying,” said she believes the bill could save lives. She called on all senators to support the bill.
“Anyone who believes the well-being and safety of children should take precedence over the greed of big tech companies should put their mark on this historic bill,” Molak said.
___
Oltutai reported from San Francisco.
