Attorney General Skrmetti Urges Congress to Pass Kids Online Safety Act
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Attorney General Skrmetti Urges Congress to Pass Kids Online Safety Act
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti today, together with a bipartisan coalition of 40 attorneys general, urged Congressional leadership to protect children from online harm and pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
The letter was circulated to House and Senate leadership in advance of potential consideration of the House version of KOSA, H.R. 6484, which contains expansive preemption language. States have pioneered laws that promote online safety for minors, and attorneys general expressed concern in their letter that the provisions in H.R. 6484 could undermine existing and future state laws designed to protect children online and would limit states’ ability to respond to and address new and emerging online harms.
In the letter, the attorneys general expressed support for the Senate version of KOSA, S. 1748, which includes a key Duty of Care requirement while enhancing and preserving states’ authority to enforce and strengthen online protections for minors.
“States are often the first to see the real-world consequences when powerful technology platforms fail to put kids’ safety first,” Attorney General Skrmetti said. “Congress should not tie the hands of state lawmakers and law enforcement who are actively working to protect children from addictive and harmful online design features. The Senate’s approach gets this balance right by setting strong national standards while respecting states’ ability to act when new threats emerge.”
This push for federal legislation comes as many state attorneys general offices have launched investigations and lawsuits against major social media platforms such as Meta and TikTok for their targeting of underage users. The attorneys general emphasized the urgency of congressional action as scrutiny of social media companies intensifies and evidence continues to mount regarding the harmful impact of addictive design features on children and teens.
Tennessee joins the attorneys general of Connecticut, Hawaii, and Ohio, who are joined by American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wyoming,