By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
After the overwhelming passage of two major kids online safety bills in a 91-3 U.S. Senate vote, parents with Parents for Online Safe Spaces (ParentsSOS) continue the push for this legislation, even as representatives are home for their recess. Legislators will return on Sept. 9.
The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) were passed in a bipartisan vote on July 30.
“We intend to keep sharing our stories and express to our legislators that no family should have to bear the pain that we live with daily. No one expected this bill to advance out of the Senate but we did it,” said a spokesperson for ParentsSOS, an organization led by parents who lost their children to due to the influences of social media. “When lawmakers in the House hear our personal stories and that there’s such a common-sense solution to addressing the wide range of harms young people face, we are confident they will support KOSA too.”
“We are determined to make KOSA a legislative priority in the House and get it signed into law before the end of the year,” said the spokesperson from ParentsSOS.
ParentsSOS members are currently meeting with their House representatives at home during the Congressional recess. Parents are also expected to meet with representatives one-on-one once House members return.
“We lost our 12-year-old son Matthew to an online viral challenge on TikTok and YouTube. This is after he was allowed access to the internet for just one hour,” said Todd Minor Sr. in a July 25 press conference on the bills. “The never-ending pain of his loss and never seeing is smiling face again coupled with the tragic memories of performing CPR on him to try and save his life stays with us everyday.”
Minor said he’d heard from several of Matthew’s classmates and friends that they could not opt out of seeing online challenges when they were on social media.
“They felt that there was no way out,” said Minor.
Other parents, through ParentsSOS, shared the stories of their children who have lost their lives due to the results of issues that take place on social media including cyberbullying and online drug dealing.
KOSA aims to enforce tech compaines to take reasonable steps in changing the design of their products and services used by children to prevent the harming youth. COPPA 2.0 is an enhanced version of the 1998 COPPA, which was created to protect the privacy of children under the age of 13.
The original COPPA’s requirements include enforcing website operators to acquire parental consent before collecting personal information from youth and provide a reasonable way for parents to review the personal information collected.
One of the ways in, which COPPA 2.0 will take things a step further is by banning advertising to kids and teens under the age of 17.
“It is really just about empowering young people and parents to take back control over their lives online,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a bill sponsor, at the July 25 press conference. “To say to big tech, we no longer trust you to make decisions for us.”
According to the Pew Research Center, 16 percent of teens say they use social media almost continuously.
In late 2023, a study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that social media platforms generate almost $11 billion in ad revenue from American youth. The authors of the study found that this emphasizes the need for increased transparency and regulations of the practices of tech companies to mitigate the potential impacts on youth mental health.
Though the future for the bill may be uncertain, Biden announced his support for the initiative highlighting his efforts on the issue and encouraging the House to pass the legislation.
“Today, the Senate took a crucial bipartisan step forward to make our kids safer online. There is undeniable evidence that social media and other online platforms contribute to our youth mental health crisis. It is past time to act,” said Biden. “The last time Congress took meaningful action to protect children and teenagers online was in 1998 – before the ubiquity of social media and smartphones. I encourage the House to send this bill to my desk for signature without delay.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, likely Democratic nominee for president, also announced her support of the effort.
“I applaud the Senate for passing the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act today. This bipartisan legislation will help protect children’s mental health, safety and privacy online,” said Vice President Kamala Harris, likely Democratic nominee for president, upon the bills’ passage. “I have spent my entire career fighting for the well-being of children, and I urge Congress to pass this bill as we continue to invest in our children and their health.”
Though there is much evidence as to why the push for child online safety is needed, it still faces some road blocks such as an often divided House and opposition from some national organizations such as the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
“We would definitely support the bills with changes,” said Ash Johnson, senior policy manager at Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).
One of those changes includes no ban on targeted advertising. Johnson emphasized the need for no large shifts in regulatory compliance burdens from the 1998 COPPA.
“Making big changes like that is where you run into the biggest compliance hurdle for businesses,” said Johnson.
The House also has until the Sept. 30 deadline to pass the 2025 fical year budget to prevent a government shutdown, a process which was largely dragged out last year.
Despite this, parentsSOS believe this issue will rise as a top and urgent concern for all legislators.
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