I'm writing as a concerned constituent to urge you to oppose the KIDS Act (H.R.7757), which recently passed the House of Representatives and is now headed to the Senate. While the KIDS Act might appear to protect children, further examination demonstrates that its application will be detrimental to youth instead. 

This legislation still does not include a duty of care, allowing companies to comply with the law by simply pushing a safety policy. As a result, platforms have no obligation to design their products with children’s safety in mind. It also weakens protections against compulsive use, narrows the scope of harms platforms need to protect their users from, and offers ineffectual chatbot provisions. Additionally, it excludes many gaming platforms, messaging apps, and streaming services, where exploitation can and does occur.

More than 300 million children a year are victims of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse. Through social media, predators have unfettered access to sexually exploit children online, and the normalization of the digital sex trade continues to rise. It is vital to advance legislation that includes meaningful protections for children, such as the Senate Version of the Kids Online Safety Act (S.1748).

S.1748 creates a duty of care that requires social media platforms to prioritize the needs of children by focusing on platform design and functionality. By doing this, platforms will reduce harm from content by ensuring that algorithms and advertising are turned off by default, helping to prevent harmful content such as material related to eating disorders, illegal substances, and the sexual exploitation of minors from targeting users.

The KIDS Act should not pass the Senate. Please oppose this legislation.

Children deserve legislation that delivers real protections, not bills that promise safety while, in fact, doing the opposite.