The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday aimed at protecting children from harmful content online, advancing what would be the first major congressional effort in decades to hold tech companies more accountable for the harm they cause.
The bill, which passed by a vote of 91 to 3, was supported by parents of children who have committed suicide after being bullied online or who have been harmed by online content. It would require companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm on online platforms frequently used by minors, requiring them to exercise a “duty of care” and ensure they generally use the safest possible settings.
The House has yet to vote on the bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he was “committed to working to find consensus,” but did not say whether he would bring it to a vote. Supporters hope the Senate’s strong vote will spur the chamber to act before the session ends in January.
President Joe Biden has encouraged the House to send the bill to him “without delay.”
“Today, our children are victims of an online Wild West, and our current laws and regulations are not enough to stop it,” Biden said. “It’s long past time to act.”
The bill aims to give children, teens and parents “reclaim control of their online lives,” said Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who co-authored the bill with Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. He said the message it sends to big tech companies is that “we no longer trust them to make decisions for us.”
The bill would be the first major set of tech regulations to pass in years, and it could potentially pave the way for other bills that would strengthen online privacy laws or set parameters for the growing use of artificial intelligence, among other things. While there has long been bipartisan support for the idea that the largest tech companies should face greater government scrutiny, there has been no consensus on how that should be done. Congress passed a bill earlier this year that would force Chinese social media company TikTok to sell or face a ban, but that bill targets only one company.
“This is a good first step, but we have a long way to go,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
If the Child Safety Bill is passed, companies will be required to reduce harm to children, including bullying and violence, promotion of suicide, eating disorders, drug addiction, sexual exploitation and advertising of illegal products such as drugs, tobacco or alcohol.
To do this, social media platforms should provide minors with options to protect their information, disable Addictive Product Features and withdraw from personalized algorithmic recommendationsThey would also be required to prevent other users from communicating with children and limit features that “augment, support or extend use” of the platform, such as auto-playing videos or platform rewards.
The idea, Blumenthal and Blackburn explain, is that platforms are “safe by design.”
“The message we’re sending to big tech companies is that kids are not your product,” Blackburn said at a news conference as the Senate passed the bill. “Kids are not your profit source.”
Several tech companies, including Microsoft, X and Snap, have supported the legislation. But some critics have also pointed to a potential lobbying campaign targeting the House of Representatives.
Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel at NetChoice, a tech industry group that represents X and Snap, as well as Google, TikTok and Meta Platforms, said in a statement that the “cybersecurity, censorship and constitutionality risks of the law remain unaddressed.” He did not provide further details.
And Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said in a statement that it supports developing standards but would instead favor legislation requiring app stores to get parental approval when teens download apps.
Blumenthal and Blackburn said they wanted to put the blame on companies, not parents. They also sought to strike a balance between forcing companies to become more responsible for what children see online while ensuring that Congress doesn’t overreach in regulating what individuals post — an effort aimed at avoiding potential legal challenges over free speech.
But some critics say the bill goes too far. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the bill could threaten users’ privacy and compared it to “book banning laws and classroom censorship.”
“The House must block this dangerous bill before it’s too late,” said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU.
Some advocacy groups have also expressed concern that the bill could harm children who would not be able to access information about LGBTQ+ issues or reproductive rights — though the bill has been revised to address some of these criticisms, and major LGBTQ+ groups do not oppose the legislation.
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a longtime advocate for online free speech, said he voted against the bill because of concerns about censorship of LGBTQ+ teen health information and the potential for lawsuits against encryption services that help young people protect themselves from predators.
The bill also includes an update to children’s privacy laws that prohibit online companies from collecting personal information from users under 13, raising that age to 17. It would also ban targeted advertising to teens and provide what lawmakers call an “eraser button” to delete a minor’s personal information.
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey sponsored the first bill in 1998 (the last time Congress passed a child online safety law) and worked with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on the update. Markey said the online space “has come a long way” since the first bill and that new tools are needed for parents as teens struggle with mental health issues.
While their bill has been stalled for months, Blumenthal and Blackburn have worked closely with parents of children who have been harmed by social media — whether through cyberbullying or social media challenges, extortion attempts, eating disorders, drug dealing or other potential dangers.
Maurine Molak, the mother of a 16-year-old boy who committed suicide after “months of relentless and threatening cyberbullying,” believes the bill can save lives. She urged all senators to vote for it.
“Anyone who believes that the well-being and safety of children should come before the greed of big tech companies should leave their mark on this landmark legislation,” Molak said.
