Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) has brought the Kids Online Safety Act (S.1409) to a vote, a crucial step toward making the internet a safer place for children.
Washington, D.C. | July 23, 2024 – The End OSEAC Coalition and ChildFund welcome and applaud today’s announcement that Senate Majority Leader Schumer will bring the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) (S. 1409) to a floor vote. The bill has 62 bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate, and support from GLAAD and HRC along with several tech companies including Microsoft, Snap and X.
Updates to the bill in February included modifying the “duty of care” provision, which specifies that companies are legally responsible for preventing children from being harmed online through their platform’s design features. Platforms will also be required to create safeguards to protect children’s data, provide parents with safety tools to help protect their children, and limit features that encourage social media usage.
“Action by Leader Schumer to bring the widely supported, bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act to the Senate floor is a huge, positive step forward in requiring online platforms to play their part in ensuring that children have safe, positive experiences online,” says Danielle Lilly, Policy Director at ChildFund. “Like users of any product, children deserve to not have their well-being compromised simply by engaging with online tools and spaces that have become ubiquitous in all of our lives. KOSA’s ‘safety by design’ principles put in place common standards that will finally put children’s best interests first.” This vote is especially timely with recent news from platforms such as Roblox, a popular gaming forum for preteens and teens, that are struggling to keep predators at bay on their sites.
The bill already has broad support from parents and survivor groups, such as the End OSEAC Coalition Survivors Council. The council shared a statement in support: “We hope that lawmakers and tech owners will hear our voices and ensure the safety of children on their platforms. The Senate must pass the Kids Online Safety Act.”
The End OSEAC Coalition and the Survivors Council look forward to the Senate passing KOSA with overwhelming bipartisan support and encourage House Speaker Johnson (R-LA) to bring it to the House floor in the fall. It’s time to pass KOSA and sign it into law so that we can create a safer internet for all.
About the End OSEAC Coalition
The End Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children (OSEAC) Coalition is a U.S. advocacy coalition that aims to improve U.S. government policies and programs to better prevent and address the online
sexual exploitation and abuse of children and provide appropriate support to survivors. Learn more about our mission to #ProtectKidsOnline: endoseac.org.
About ChildFund
Founded in 1938, ChildFund works throughout Asia, Africa and the Americas — including the United States — to connect children with what they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled and safe, no matter where they are. Last year, we reached 14.8 million children and family members in 23 countries. About 200,000 Americans support our work by sponsoring individual children or investing in ChildFund programs. Find out more at www.ChildFund.org
out more at www.ChildFund.org
