WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Ashley Moody
announced joining U.S. Senators Marsha
Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Majority
Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck
Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), an effort she has been
supportive of since she was Attorney General. KOSA provides young people and
parents with the tools, safeguards, and transparency they need to protect
against online harms. The bill requires social media platforms to put the
well-being of children first by providing an environment that is safe by
default.
Senator Ashley Moody said, “Since my time as the Attorney
General of Florida, fighting back against Big Tech’s influence on our children
has been one of my top priorities. As a mother, I know firsthand just how
addictive some of the features and algorithms can be to our children, how
simply our children can access unsafe material and how easily these companies
can use our children’s information to make the apps even more addictive.
Predators are currently using the internet to target our kids by exposing them
to dangerous substances or age-inappropriate content through social media
platforms—it cannot continue. I am proud to stand with this bipartisan group of
colleagues to support the Kids Online Safety Act that will protect our children
and hold these companies accountable.”
“Big Tech platforms have shown time and
time again they will always prioritize their bottom line over the safety of our
children, and 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,” said Senator Blackburn. “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 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,” said Senator Blumenthal. “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.”
“I have been a longtime advocate for
holding Big Tech accountable for its manipulative algorithms,” said
Majority Leader Thune. “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.”
“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,” said Minority Leader Schumer. “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.”
BACKGROUND
- Recent bombshell reporting revealed
Meta’s latest failure to protect minors from harm after AI-powered digital
chatbots engaged in sexually explicit discussions with underaged users on
its platforms.
- An additional report revealed
Instagram’s automated software systems recommended child groomers connect
with minors on the app and made it easier for them to find victims,
according to a 2019 internal document presented by the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC). The report noted that minors made up 27% of the follow
recommendations that the social media app surfaced to groomers, and about
one-third of the reports flagging inappropriate comments to the company
came from minors.
- KOSA is strongly supported by a
broad coalition of parents who have tragically lost their children or
whose kids have been severely harmed by Big Tech, young people who want to
regain control over their online lives, and hundreds of advocacy groups
and experts who study and see the negative effects of social media
firsthand in their communities.
As Florida’s Attorney General, Senator
Moody consistently led the fight against Big Tech and their harmful features
for children. View some of the actions Senator Moody took below:
- Attorney General Moody and
Multistate Coalition Urge Congress to Pass Kids Online Safety Act;
- Attorney General Moody Calls on
Congress to Protect Youth by Requiring Surgeon General Warning on Social
Media Platforms;
- Attorney General Moody Leads AGs
Calling on Meta to Protect Users’ Accounts From Scammers;
- Attorney General Moody Demands Meta
Cease Child Exploitation on Instagram;
- Attorney General Moody Calls on
Congress to Push Social Media Outlets to Protect Kids;
- Attorney General Moody Takes Legal
Action Against Meta to Protect Children;
- Attorney General Moody Calls Meta
CEO Zuckerberg to Florida to Testify About the Use of Meta Platforms in
Florida Human Trafficking Cases;
- AG Moody Leads Investigation into
Instagram’s Impact on Youth;
Click here for bill text.
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