Senate set to pass bill designed to protect kids from dangerous online content

WASHINGTON — The Senate is expected to pass legislation on Tuesday that designed to protect children from dangerous online contentmarking the first major effort in decades by Congress to hold tech companies more accountable for the harm they cause.

The bill has broad bipartisan support and was pushed by parents of children who committed suicide after being bullied online. It would compel companies to take reasonable measures to prevent harm on online platforms that are often used by minors, requiring them to exercise their ‘duty of care’ and ensure that they generally use the safest possible settings.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who wrote the bill with Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, said the bill is about giving kids, teens and parents back control of their online lives, “and saying to the big tech companies, we no longer trust you to make decisions for us.”

The House has not yet taken action on the bill, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he will review the bill and try to build consensus. Supporters hope a strong vote in the Senate — a test vote last week advanced the bill 86-1 — will prompt the House to take action.

If the bill passes, companies would have to limit the harms that children experience, such as bullying and violence, incitement to suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation and advertising for illegal products such as narcotics, tobacco or alcohol.

To do that, social media platforms would have to give minors options to protect their information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of personalized algorithmic recommendations. They would also have to limit other users from communicating with children and restrict features that “increase, sustain, or prolong” their use of the platform, such as autoplay for videos or platform rewards.

The idea, say Blumenthal and Blackburn, is that the platforms are “safe by design.”

In writing the bill, the two senators worked to strike a balance that would give companies more responsibility for what children see online, but also ensure that Congress doesn’t go too far in regulating what individuals post. It’s an attempt to appease lawmakers in both parties who worry that regulation could undermine free speech and ultimately expose a law to legal challenges.

In addition to First Amendment concerns, some critics have said the legislation could harm vulnerable children who would not have access to information about LGBTQ+ issues or reproductive rights. However, the bill has been revised to address many of those concerns, and major LGBTQ+ groups have voted to support the proposed legislation.

The bill would be the first major tech regulatory package to pass in years. While there has long been bipartisan support for the idea that the biggest tech companies should have more government oversight, there is little consensus about how it should be done. Congress passed legislation earlier this year that force Chinese social media company TikTok to sell or risk a banbut that law only targets one company.

Some tech companies, including Microsoft, X and Snap, support the bill. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has not taken a position.

In a statement last week, Snap praised the bill, saying in a statement that “the safety and well-being of young people on Snapchat is a top priority.”

The bill also includes an update to children’s privacy laws that would prohibit online companies from collecting personal information from users under the age of 13, raising that age to 17. It would also ban targeted advertising to teens and allow teens or guardians to delete a minor’s personal information.

While the bill has stalled in recent months, Blumenthal and Blackburn have also worked closely with parents of children who have committed suicide after being cyberbullied or otherwise harmed by social media, including dangerous social media challenges, extortion attempts, eating disorders and drug dealing. During a tearful press conference last week, the parents said they were glad the Senate was finally moving forward with the legislation.

Maurine Molak, the mother of a 16-year-old who committed suicide after “months of relentless and threatening cyberbullying,” said she believes the bill could save lives. She urged every senator to vote for it.

“Anyone who believes that the welfare and safety of children is more important than the greed of big tech companies should put their stamp on this historic legislation,” Molak said.