WASHINGTON — The Senate is set to approve legislation on Tuesday aimed at protecting children from harmful online content, marking a significant step by Congress in decades to hold tech companies accountable for the harm they cause.
The bill, which has garnered widespread bipartisan support, was championed by parents of children who tragically died by suicide after enduring online bullying. It mandates companies to implement reasonable measures to prevent harm on online platforms frequently used by minors, obligating them to exercise a “duty of care” and prioritize the safest settings possible.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who co-authored the bill with Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, stated that the legislation is about empowering children, teenagers, and parents to reclaim control over their online lives, and to hold big tech accountable for their decisions.
The House of Representatives has yet to take action on the bill, but Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has indicated his intention to review the legislation and strive for consensus. Proponents of the bill are hopeful that a strong vote in the Senate—a test vote last week advanced the bill with an overwhelming 86-1 vote—will encourage the House to take action.
If the bill becomes law, companies will be required to mitigate harm to children, encompassing bullying, violence, the promotion of suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and advertising for illegal products such as narcotics, tobacco, or alcohol.
To achieve this, social media platforms will need to provide minors with options to safeguard their information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of personalized algorithmic recommendations. They will also be required to restrict other users from interacting with children and limit features that exacerbate platform usage, such as autoplay for videos or platform rewards.
The ultimate goal, as Blumenthal and Blackburn explain, is for these platforms to be “safe by design.”
In crafting the bill, the two senators have strived to strike a balance between increasing corporate responsibility for online content seen by children and ensuring that Congress doesn’t overreach in regulating individual posts. This effort aims to appease lawmakers from both parties concerned about potential restrictions on freedom of expression and the potential legal challenges such regulation could face.
Beyond First Amendment concerns, some critics have raised concerns that the legislation could negatively impact vulnerable children who might struggle to access information about LGBTQ+ issues or reproductive rights. However, the bill has undergone revisions to address many of these concerns, and leading LGBTQ+ groups have expressed their support for the proposed legislation.
This bill would mark the first major tech regulation package to be enacted in years. While there has been a longstanding bipartisan consensus on the need for increased government oversight of large tech companies, consensus on the approach has been lacking. Earlier this year, Congress passed legislation compelling the Chinese-based social media company TikTok to either sell its operations or face restrictions, but that law focused solely on a single company.
Some tech companies, including Microsoft, X, and Snap, have voiced their support for the bill. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has not yet taken a stance on the legislation.
In a statement released last week, Snap commended the bill, emphasizing that “the safety and well-being of young people on Snapchat is a top priority.”
The bill also includes an update to child privacy laws that prohibits online companies from collecting personal information from users under 13, raising that age to 17. It would also prohibit targeted advertising to teenagers and grant teens or their guardians the ability to delete a minor’s personal information.
As the bill faced delays in recent months, Blumenthal and Blackburn have actively collaborated with the parents of children who have experienced tragic suicides following cyberbullying or other forms of harm caused by social media, including dangerous social media challenges, extortion attempts, eating disorders, and drug deals. At a poignant news conference last week, these parents expressed their satisfaction with the Senate’s decision to move forward with the legislation.
Maurine Molak, the mother of a 16-year-old who died by suicide after enduring “months of relentless and threatening cyberbullying,” expressed her belief that the bill can save lives. She urged all senators to vote in favor of the legislation.
“Anyone who believes that children’s well-being and safety should come before big tech’s greed ought to put their mark on this historic legislation,” Molak declared.