The proposal from Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) would limit children under age 13 from using social media and require teens between 13-17 years old to have parental consent before joining.
The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act would also prevent social media companies from feeding content using algorithms to users under the age of 18, and would provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general with the authority to enforce the provisions of the bill.
The lead senators on the bill touted the bipartisan nature of the effort, with Murphy calling it one of the most “apolitical issues” for lawmakers to address.
It comes amid support for other kids’ online safety proposals. Namely, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) advanced with broad support out of the Senate Commerce Committee last year but failed to get a floor vote.
Schatz said KOSA is “compatible” with the new proposal and there is bipartisan momentum to do a “suite of things” on kids’ online safety.
The has bill received immediate pushback from tech industry groups.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
