Landmark legislation that would hold big tech companies like Meta accountable for children’s safety online has stalled in the Senate, with critics blaming Republican Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The Child Online Safety Act (KOSA) would impose a legal “duty of care” on social media companies to protect minors from harassment, bullying, anxiety and sexual abuse, subjecting violations to enforcement action by the Federal Trade Commission.
The bill has 69 cosponsors across the Senate political spectrum, including Sen. Schumer and lead cosponsors Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). In a surprising twist, Snap, X, and Microsoft have split with the tech industry in voicing their support for the bill.
Meta hasn’t taken a public stance on KOSA specifically, but has said it supports federal regulation of online safety. When asked about an older version of the bill on Capitol Hill earlier this year, TikTok CEO Shaw Zhu Chu said the company would support it with some changes.
Some supporters of the bill, including parents whose children have been victims of online abuse, are optimistic that KOSA will become law before the end of the year, but others are upset that Schumer has not scheduled a floor vote on the bill despite clear bipartisan support.
“I don’t understand why he’s not taking this to court,” said Mary Roddy, a New York resident whose 15-year-old son, Riley, committed suicide in 2015 after being the target of a Facebook sextortion scam.
“I just keep saying, ‘Okay, that doesn’t seem to be the plan,’ but it all seems like a political show.”
Calls for the bill gained momentum after a shocking Senate hearing earlier this year in which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered a shocking apology to families of victims of online child sexual abuse. The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is currently facing federal lawsuits from dozens of states alleging that its addictive apps have harmed children and contributed to a mental health crisis among young people.
Roddy said the apology rang hollow and that lawmakers should not have accepted it.
“Mark Zuckerberg was given the platform to apologize to us, which he did not deserve,” Rodrigo said. “To me, it should never have happened. I am in disbelief about all of it.”
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As The Post reported, KOSA is one of several bipartisan online safety bills under consideration that are considered the most likely to pass. It was introduced in the Senate last year, and a companion version is expected to be introduced in the House in April.
Schumer has called KOSA his “top priority” and is seeking to move it forward with unanimous consent, an expedited procedure that allows legislation to pass unless senators object. That would allow the Senate to avoid lengthy roll call votes with time running out on the floor ahead of the 2024 elections.
Schumer said in a floor speech last week that some senators remain opposed to the bill and that if the conditions are not met, the Senate “will have to pursue another legislative path to pass this bill.”
One of the main opponents is Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who is not expected to back down from his opposition. Paul’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
“I already have mothers coming to me who have experienced tragedy for their children, but someone just needs to have the courage to read the bill and see what’s wrong with it,” Paul said recently. He told The Huffington Post“If they unanimously want it, we have to negotiate.”
The other is Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who sources said tried to ensure that KOSA would not weaken Section 230, the controversial law that protects tech companies from liability for third-party content posted on their platforms. Wyden was one of the original co-authors of the law.
“There are constructive discussions going on about KOSA,” a Wyden aide said. “They’re moving in the right direction. He hasn’t given up any authority yet.”
Meanwhile, Parents for Safe Online Spaces, an organization representing families who have lost children to online abuse, is pressuring Governor Schumer to take action.
Over Father’s Day weekend, the group put up a billboard in Times Square urging the senator and other lawmakers to pass KOSA and “save children’s lives.” Parents also recently sent a letter to Schumer reminding him that he had promised to hold a vote by June 20, but that deadline has now passed.
“There is certainly frustration,” a source familiar with the situation told The Post. “I believe the advertisements and letters sent by parents last week have really changed the way this office responds. It’s frustrating that they didn’t act sooner.”
Schumer’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
KOSA faced a new setback when the House Energy and Commerce Committee abruptly halted plans to amend the bill on Thursday, the final step before a vote on the bill, with supporters calling for the amendments to be rescheduled for after the July 4 recess.
Outside of Congress, opponents of the bill include the ACLU and digital advocacy group Fight For The Future, which called KOSA a “dangerous censorship bill that would give the government unprecedented control over the internet.”
The Chamber of Progress, an industry group funded by big tech companies, argues the bill would force tech companies to “over-control” the internet.
A spokesman for Blackburn said KOSA has “broad support across the conservative community, including the Heritage Foundation, the America First Institute, the Ethics and Public Policy Center and dozens of other organizations.”
“Senator Blackburn has fought for years to protect kids online and looks forward to seeing KOSA signed into law,” the spokesperson said.
Although hurdles remain, supporters of the bill say they are optimistic it will ultimately pass.
Roddy, who was part of a group of parents that met with Schumer about KOSA in May, said Schumer’s office has been responsive in keeping her up to date on the bill’s status, even if progress has been slower than hoped.
“I’m very upset with Mr. Schumer, but I have to say they’ve been communicating with me very well,” Rodriguez said. “Anytime I need to calm down, his chief of staff is on the phone. I really feel like they’re working on it.”
Blumenthal praised Schumer for leading negotiations with Senate opponents and said he was confident they could get the bill through “based on the conversations” he had with top Democrats.
“It’s amazing how far parents have come,” said Josh Golin, executive director of online advocacy group FairPlay and co-founder of Parents SOS. “It’s hard to even quantify how out-funded and out-gunned we are by the tech industry.”
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the hugely popular photo app is “working to promote a safe and age-appropriate experience on TikTok through our robust safety policies and parental controls, age-neutral restrictions, and team of over 40,000 safety experts.”
“There are a range of options that could make young people safer online and we welcome Parliament’s involvement in that discussion.”
