{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2024/12/issues/technology/news-bipartisan-senate-leaders-urge-house-gop-to-stand-up-to-tech-companies-protect-children-from-social-media-harms-pass-kids-online-privacy-legislation-before-end-of-year", "NEWS: Bipartisan Senate Leaders Urge House GOP to Stand Up to Tech Companies, Protect Children From Social Media Harms & Pass Kids Online Privacy Legislation Before End of Year", "2024-12-04", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "www.blackburn.senate.gov", "blackburn", "https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ranking Member Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), authors of bipartisan bills to protect children online, wrote to House Republican Leaders urging them to pass the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA) package before the end of the year. The legislation to protect children from increasing harms caused by social media has languished in the House for months after overwhelmingly passing the Senate, 91-3, in July.\n\n\u201cWhile the internet and digital tools have helped kids connect with others and the world around them, these benefits have come at a profound cost\u2014our children are experiencing emotional, mental, and physical harm from their use of digital platforms,\u201d the senators wrote in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise. \u201cStudies show the more time youth spend on social media, the greater the risk they will suffer from poor mental health, disordered eating, and diminished sleep quality. These risks are multiplied because social media platforms are designed to be addictive, so that kids will spend more time online.\u201d\n\nThe KOSPA package combines two key pieces of legislation. The first is the Markey-Cassidy Children and Teens\u2019 Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), which updates the original COPPA passed in 1998. This legislation bans online companies from collecting personal information from users under 17 years old without their consent and creates an eraser button to eliminate personal information online. The second component is the Blumenthal-Blackburn Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which provides children and parents with the tools, safeguards and transparency to protect against online harms, establishes a duty of care for online platforms and requires the most protective settings for kids by default.\n\n\u201cKOSPA proves that Congress can set aside politics and act decisively when our children are at stake,\u201d the letter continued. \u201cWe ask that you join the 91 United States Senators who put the well-being of our children ahead of tech companies and bring KOSPA to the House floor for a vote.\u201d\n\nRead the letter here and below:\n\nDear Speaker Johnson and Leader Scalise:\n\nWe write today to state our support for protecting American children from the harms caused by social media and other online platforms. While the internet and digital tools have helped kids connect with others and the world around them, these benefits have come at a profound cost\u2014our children are experiencing emotional, mental, and physical harm from their use of digital platforms.\n\nThese are not isolated harms. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, the use of social media among American youth is pervasive, with up to 95 percent of kids aged 13-17 reporting that they use social media, and more than one-third of them use it constantly. Nearly 40 percent of kids aged 8-12 use social media, even though most platforms purportedly do not allow children under 13 to create an account.\n\nStudies show the more time youth spend on social media, the greater the risk they will suffer from poor mental health, disordered eating, and diminished sleep quality. The use of targeted advertising results in kids being shown ads for alcohol, tobacco, diet pills, or gambling sites. These risks are multiplied because social media platforms are designed to be addictive, so that kids will spend more time online.\n\nFederal law protecting children\u2019s privacy has not kept up with technology. Further, current law does not protect the online privacy of teens aged 13-16.\n\nThe \u201cKids Online Safety and Privacy Act\u201d (\u201cKOSPA\u201d) will give parents and kids more tools to avoid harm. And the law will provide a long overdue update to the current Children\u2019s Online Privacy Protection Act. The Senate passed KOSPA by an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 91-3. KOSPA proves that Congress can set aside politics and act decisively when our children are at stake.\n\nWe ask that you join the 91 United States Senators who put the well-being of our children ahead of tech companies and bring KOSPA to the House floor for a vote.\n\nSincerely,\n\nSenator Maria Cantwell\n\nSenator Ted Cruz\n\nSenator Edward Markey\n\nSenator Bill Cassidy\n\nSenator Richard Blumenthal\n\nSenator Marsha Blackburn", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2024/12/issues/technology/news-bipartisan-senate-leaders-urge-house-gop-to-stand-up-to-tech-companies-protect-children-from-social-media-harms-pass-kids-online-privacy-legislation-before-end-of-year"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1538299731910229, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}