WASHINGTON, D.C., July 30, 2024 – The End Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children (OSEAC) Coalition, a group of organizations committed to advocacy to further policies that protect children online, commends the Senate for passing the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act, or KOSPA (S.2073), which includes the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA (S.1409), and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA 2.0 (S.1418). Passing the Senate 91-3, this bill is the first to place significant restrictions on tech platforms in decades. To become law, the bills require action from the House of Representatives upon returning to session in September.
“A major step in the right direction, the passage of KOSPA puts requirements on social media companies to better protect kids online – including protection from online sexual exploitation and abuse,” said Coco Lammers, Director of the End OSEAC Coalition. “We are encouraged by the strong support shown today by the Senate and are eager for the House to pass the same. I also want to express my deep gratitude to the survivors and parents who have advocated tirelessly for the passage of this legislation in the Senate.”
“We are grateful to Senator Schumer for upholding his promise to all the survivors and lived experience experts by bringing KOSA to the Senate floor for a vote,” said Jajaira Overton, End OSEAC Survivors’ Council Chair. “Our children need this important legislation, and it is finally seeing the movement it deserves. Let’s get this sent to the president’s desk!”
Under the guidance of Chair Durbin and Ranking Member Graham, the Senate Judiciary Committee has unified across party lines on the issue of protecting children online. They have unanimously reported multiple bipartisan bills to address the range of harms children encounter online.
“Today’s overwhelming vote should send a message to Big Tech that its days of policing itself are over,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). “As the Senate Judiciary Committee has shown throughout this Congress, social media and other tech platforms pose serious dangers to the physical and mental health of our kids and grandkids. But more importantly, the Committee and—now—the Senate have shown there is a bipartisan will to finally hold these companies accountable.”
Introduced by Sens. Blumenthal (D-CT) and Blackburn (R-TN) and endorsed by the End OSEAC Coalition, KOSA requires covered platforms to enable the strongest security settings for children, gives parents and caregivers new tools to safeguard its younger users, creates a duty of care for tech companies to mitigate harms to minors, and requires independent audits that assess potential risks to children on their platforms.
The End OSEAC Coalition urges the House of Representatives to vote on these critical online safety bills upon return to session in September.
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.
