Congress Must Take Up Online Child Protection and Pass KOSA

LOS ANGELES (May 3, 2023) – The Parents Television and Media Council is supporting the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), introduced by Sens. Martha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and called on Congress to pass this bill and others that prioritize solutions to online child safety.

The Kids Online Safety Act is designed to hold social media companies accountable and establish a duty of care for protecting children online.

“The burden of protection cannot be placed solely on parents – the challenges are too great. Children are up against social media algorithms that can feed harmful content to children on repeat and against corporate interests that market explicit content to children without repercussions. The technology and entertainment industries must be held accountable for ensuring protection,” said Melissa Henson, vice president of the Parents Television and Media Council.”

“Congress must prioritize and pass solutions to protect our children like the Kids Online Safety Act, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, and the EARN IT Act, and others that protect the health and well-being of children.”

In November 2022, the PTC revealed that Hollywood is marketing teen-targeted TV shows with explicit adult content to young teens through social media sites popular with 13-17-year-olds, thereby doing an end-run around parents.