ParentsSOS Statement on Successful Markup of KOSA in House IDC Subcommittee
(WASHINGTON, D.C., May 23, 2024) – Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS), an educational initiative formed by families who have lost children to online harms, issued the following statement after Thursday’s Innovation, Data, and Commerce (IDC) Subcommittee markup on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA):
"This day has been a long time coming, but we are so relieved to see KOSA marked up and voted out of the Subcommittee,” said Maurine Molak, Co-Founder of ParentsSOS. “This is an important victory for those of us who are fighting every day to ensure no family goes through what we have, but there’s still work to be done. We urge Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers to hold a full committee markup when the House is back in session in June. We also urge Leader Schumer to bring this lifesaving legislation with 70 cosponsors to the Senate floor.”
The algorithms social media platforms use purposefully promote content harmful to children simply because it keeps them scrolling and amplifies profits. But the consequences for America’s young people have been dire, as the mental health crisis has shown. Still, for more than 25 years, Congress has passed no new laws to rein Big Tech in. This free pass has devastated our families and far too many more across the country.
Now that the IDC Subcommittee has taken bold action to put children’s needs ahead of Big Tech profits, we are one step closer to creating online spaces that can be truly safe and educational.
“Today’s action was critical to advance KOSA from a transformative idea to a law that will create real, positive change for American families,” said Josh Golin, Executive Director of Fairplay and Co-Founder of ParentsSOS. “And we appreciate that so many Representatives acknowledged the tireless advocacy of ParentsSOS families who are leading the charge for change. We urge Senate and House leadership to move this bill forward as fast as humanly possible to save children’s lives.”
ParentsSOS thanks Congresswoman Kathy Castor and Congressman Gus Bilirakis for their leadership on this critical legislation and every IDC Subcommittee member who voted to advance it today. Now the full House must continue this essential work to pass KOSA once and for all, and the Senate must follow suit. Children’s lives must no longer be the price we pay for Big Tech’s billions in earnings.
KOSA is a broadly bipartisan bill with tremendous support inside and outside the halls of Congress. It is the first legislation in decades to finally hold Big Tech accountable for their design choices and business model. It will no doubt save children’s lives.
ParentsSOS will continue to sound the alarm about social media harms by providing educational resources and advocating for legislative change to protect children online. For more information about ParentsSOS and their mission, visit https://www.parentssos.org/.
