WASHINGTON — Congress is set to wage an all-out war against internet companies and social media platforms to protect children online, and there’s bipartisan support growing to enact legislation to do so.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee held an hourslong hearing on Tuesday morning to discuss solutions to protect children from harm on the internet. The hearing comes after a quiet but steady effort among both Republicans and Democrats to update current laws that haven’t been revised in more than two decades — before today’s most popular social media platforms were created.
The committee examined 19 pieces of legislation designed to crack down on the harms of social platforms for children that lawmakers claim have been suppressed by media companies to boost their products.
“For too long, tech companies have failed to adequately protect children and teens from the dangers of the online world,” Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., who chairs the Health Subcommittee, said during the hearing. “Parents, educators, and lawmakers all agree that meaningful, lasting protections are urgently needed — and today’s discussion marked an important step toward achieving them.”
One of the most prominent bills proposed is the Kids Online Safety Act, a sweeping bill to update regulations on social media platforms that dictate how the companies can operate.
KOSA, which currently has more than 40 bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate alone, would require platforms to establish safeguards protecting users under the age of 17. While the bill carves out some exceptions, it would apply to video games, online messaging sites, video streaming services and other online platforms.
The bill would “generally require” social media apps to “exercise reasonable care” in its design and features that typically cause teenagers to become addicted to the online sites. It would also require companies to meet certain requirements before implementing algorithms that “select, order, or prioritize information presented to users based on user-specific data.”
Lawmakers have also introduced more specific pieces of legislation to address certain areas they say aren’t touched through KOSA.
For example, the App Store Accountability Act introduced by Utah Sen. Mike Lee in the Senate and Rep. John James, R-Mich., in the House.
The bill would require accounts operated by children to be linked to a parental account that must consent to the app’s download before it is downloaded to the child’s device. The proposal would outline minimum standards that app stores must meet, including age verification tools, parental oversight and accurate app age ratings.
Stores will then undergo annual certifications to ensure the regulations are being followed and any loopholes are closed.
“Just as brick-and-mortar stores are held responsible for selling age restricted materials like tobacco or alcohol to minors, the App Store Accountability Act will hold digital app stores accountable for providing adult or addictive material to minors as well,” James said in Tuesday’s hearing.
Another bill, the Promoting a Safe Internet for Minors Act, would amend the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act similar to KOSA.
Instead of updating regulations, the PSIM Act would require the Federal Trade Commission to work with other agencies, organizations, schools and more to launch a nationwide education campaign to “promote the safe use of the internet by minors.”
That would specifically include promoting best practices online, raising awareness about the negative harms and risks of being online, and teaching children how to identify dangerous behavior.
“Digital technologies change so fast that even the most engaged parents struggle to keep up with the latest apps and features,” Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., said on Tuesday. “That’s why the Promoting a Safe Internet for Minors Act would direct the FTC to launch a nationwide education campaign to help kids and parents learn how to stay safe.”
Lee introduced that bill alongside Democratic Rep. Darren Soto of Florida.
Several of the other bills have garnered bipartisan support so far, although none have yet advanced out of committee to be brought to the floor. However, that could happen over the coming months as lawmakers from both parties urge sweeping changes to the digital landscape.