Editorial: Legislation to keep kids safe online cannot wait

Editorial Board, The Seattle Times on Dec 13, 2024

Published in Op Eds

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What is U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson waiting for? Months ago, the Louisiana Republican was handed broadly popular legislation to protect children from the harms of social media. But he vowed this week not to allow a vote in his chamber until Donald Trump is sworn in as president and a new Congress convenes. Stalling the protections is wrong and will unnecessarily prolong a dangerous digital environment for America's youth.

In July, 91 senators supported the legislation, which would establish limits on Big Tech's collection of young peoples' data and the use of that data to keep them glued to scrolling on their screens. In an age when the mental health of teens, tweens and children is suffering, the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act cannot wait.

"The urgency to protect our kids online doesn't change depending on who is in the White House," U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate commerce committee that heard the legislation, said Monday in a statement. "The Senate acted by a vote of 91 to 3 and parents have been waiting long enough. The House should act accordingly."

With social media has come a dark peril for teens. A 2019 study of nearly 11,000 14-year-olds found higher levels of online harassment, poor sleep habits and body image and low self-esteem in those with more prevalent social media use. Some parents who testified before Cantwell's committee endured the greatest nightmare of all: losing a child to suicide after exposure to harmful content or harassment online.

The groundbreaking legislation is actually two bipartisan bills in one.

The first, forged by Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., bans social media and online companies from taking personal data of users under 17 without their consent. Youth using sites must also have an accessible "eraser button" to remove personal data.

The second, sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., equips kids and parents with new online safety tools and requires kids to be set up with the strongest privacy settings the platform offers.

The bill would also establish a legally defined "duty of care," obligating tech companies to "prevent and mitigate" a broad number of harms: eating disorders, substance abuse, suicide, bullying and more.

As if the Senate's staunch support was not enough, Blumenthal and Blackburn released Saturday new bill language to make clear it doesn't police content and allay fears it could be used to suppress free speech online — the key reason the three senators voted against the bill in July. The senators got help from X and its CEO, Linda Yaccarino, which has supported the legislation this year.

At this point, Speaker Johnson's inaction is negligence. It's a disservice to young and old Americans alike that he's unwilling to bring well-conceived and thoughtful digital safety reforms to the House floor. The legislation is ready; more young people and their families will suffer the longer it takes to sign into law.

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