WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), joined by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), have reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)—a bipartisan bill aimed at holding Big Tech accountable for the safety of children online.
KOSA was first approved by the Senate in July 2023 with an overwhelming 91–3 bipartisan vote. The reintroduction comes in the wake of multiple reports highlighting serious failures by tech platforms to protect minors, including recent revelations about Instagram and Meta. You can view the actual bill HERE.
“Big Tech platforms have shown time and time again they will always prioritize their bottom line over the safety of our children,” said Senator Blackburn. “I’ve heard too many heartbreaking stories to count from parents who have lost a child because these companies have refused to make their platforms safer by default. We would never allow our children to be exposed to pornography, sexual exploitation, drugs, alcohol, and traffickers in the physical space, but these platforms are allowing this every single day in the virtual space. Congress must not cave to the wills and whims of Big Tech, and we must not be bullied into submission. Now is the time to stand up and protect future generations from harm by passing KOSA.”
Senator Blumenthal emphasized the urgency and momentum for the legislation: “Senator Blackburn and I made a promise to parents and young people when we started fighting together for the Kids Online Safety Act – we will make this bill law. There’s undeniable awareness of the destructive harms caused by Big Tech’s exploitive, addictive algorithms, and inescapable momentum for reform. I am grateful to Senators Thune and Schumer for their leadership and to our Senate colleagues for their overwhelming bipartisan support. KOSA is an idea whose time has come – in fact, it’s urgently overdue – and even tech companies like X and Apple are realizing that the status quo is unsustainable. Our coalition is bigger and stronger than ever before, and we are committed to seeing this measure protecting children on the internet signed into law.”
Senate Majority Leader Thune said, “I have been a longtime advocate for holding Big Tech accountable for its manipulative algorithms. Consumers deserve more transparency about how these platforms amplify and suppress content, which is why I’m proud to support the Kids Online Safety Act. Senator Blackburn has done a tremendous amount of work to deliver a bill that takes real steps to empower families and mitigate the harm social media can do to children, and I’m grateful for her leadership on the issue.”
Senate Minority Leader Schumer added, “I am proud to support this bipartisan legislation which provides necessary guardrails to protect our kids. Too many kids have had their personal data collected and used nefariously. Too many families have lost kids after they took their own lives because of what happened to them on social media. I thank these brave parents and families for sharing their stories. Keeping our kids safe from online threats should not be a partisan issue, I thank my Senate colleagues for championing these bills and I look forward to swift passage.”
The bill has been endorsed by more than 250 national, state, and local organizations, and now includes public support from Apple. “Apple is pleased to offer our support for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Everyone has a part to play in keeping kids safe online, and we believe [this] legislation will have a meaningful impact on children’s online safety,” said Timothy Powderly, Senior Director, Government Affairs, Americas, Apple.
KOSA has also been endorsed by parents who lost children to online harms such as cyberbullying, sextortion, and suicide—many of whom shared personal, devastating testimonies urging lawmakers to act. Erin Popolo, whose daughter Emily died by suicide at 17, said, “It’s only a small victory – we still desperately need Congress to actually act on this popular, bipartisan bill and make it law.”
KOSA includes clarifying provisions that it will not censor, limit, or remove content, nor give the FTC or state attorneys general the authority to sue over speech.
Supporters say the legislation offers a vital opportunity to enact the first meaningful tech reforms in over 25 years and prevent future tragedies caused by unchecked online harms.
