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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer visited Pine Grove Middle School in East Syracuse Tuesday, where he called on the United States House of Representatives to act on a pair of bipartisan bills promoting online safety for children, according to a Tuesday press release.

Schumer gathered alongside Syracuse community members to discuss the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, both designed to increase safety for children and teens on internet and social media sites. A package of the two bills was passed in the Senate by a vote of 91-3 on July 30, though it has since stalled in the House, according to the release.

“With our kids spending more and more of their lives online, ensuring their safety in today’s world means that ensuring their online safety is more important than ever,” Schumer said in Tuesday’s release. “The House must stop delays and pass the landmark bipartisan bills the Senate passed earlier this summer immediately to keep our kids safe.”

The bill previously faced similar delays in the senate due to opposition from outside parties, including the American Civil Liberties Union and senators, who said the language of the bill was too broad. After the July vote, the bill’s three opposers — Sens. Mike Lee, Rand Paul and Ron Wyden — argued that the legislation could potentially be weaponized to promote censorship.

KOSA would require additional data transparency measures for social media companies, including giving children and teens the option to protect their data, opt out of algorithmic recommendations and allow parents to control how platforms use their childrens’ data, according to the release.

The bill also requires that social media outlets conduct independent audits into how platforms impact young users’ mental health, the release states. Platforms would also be required to limit the promotion of content depicting harmful behavior, including disordered eating, substance abuse and sexual exploitation.

COPPA 2.0, a revision to the over two-decade-old COPPA legislation, would prohibit companies from collecting data from users under the age of 17 without their consent, ban advertising that targets this demographic and require social media companies to add a data “eraser button” for their platforms’ child users, according to the release.

The old COPPA legislation protected users under the age of 13 from data collection without parental consent. In 2013, COPPA was amended to accommodate rising social media usage amongst minors, broadening the scope of what counts as “personal information” in data collection. The recent/updated act would also increase the jurisdiction to cover all platforms that all teens would be likely to use, according to the release.

According to a 2023 advisory released by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, 46% of people between the ages of 13 and 17 reported that social media makes them feel worse. Data indicate that these platforms may lead to feelings of “body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison, and low self-esteem,” according to the advisory’s executive summary.

“We’ve secured overwhelming support for these bills from members of both parties,” Schumer said Tuesday. “We need the House to bring forward this critically important legislation immediately and without changes. Any further delay risks all the hard work these parents have done. The moment to act has arrived.”

The House, set to reconvene on Sept. 9, has not yet added a vote on the two bills to its docket, syracuse.com reported.

Published on September 3, 2024 at 10:20 pm

Contact Henry: hdaley@syr.edu