The Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act would be key tools for keeping youth safe on digital platforms.
As pediatricians, we've witnessed the harm that can come to children online. Some of these harms have been extensively reported in the media: disrupted sleep, anxiety, depressed mood, altered body image, bullying. Other harms are less discussed: We have seen kids who have been offered drugs on social media platforms and others who have been solicited, extorted and even trafficked.
It can be tempting to think, "Not my child, that would never happen to us." As parents, we understand that distancing ourselves from such unimaginable scenarios is human nature. But today's digital world knows no boundaries. It reaches young people everywhere: kids from inner cities, suburbs, rural America, kids on the honor roll, kids with special needs, kids from elementary to high school -- most from loving families who had never imagined a tragedy was possible until it came to them.
Yet Congress is moving forward right now on a year-end legislative package that misses a critical opportunity to protect young people online. Absent from this package are two key bills that -- if passed -- would have been the first legislation in 25 years to take meaningful steps toward keeping children and teens safe in digital spaces.
Earlier this year, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act. These bills include new privacy, design and safety protections that would make online spaces safer for children. Now, with only days left in this congressional session, lawmakers may miss a vital window to get these bipartisan bills across the finish line.
Until now, so much of the burden of keeping kids safe online has fallen on parents and caregivers. As parents, we know we bear most of the responsibility for nurturing our children into healthy, productive adults. But even the most involved, tech-savvy parents face a steep learning curve to keep up with the latest online platforms and trends. This knowledge asymmetry begs for partnership with those best positioned to create change - the social media platforms themselves.
The Kids Online Safety Act would require social media platforms to proactively prevent harm to minors, taking steps like disabling features, such as algorithmic recommendations, that are both inappropriate and addictive for children 16 and under. It would give young people new tools to control their own digital experience and empower parents to protect their children online. It would also give the public transparency into the harms these platforms pose, what companies are doing to address them and how they are being held accountable.
The Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act would update data privacy safeguards for children and teens while imposing meaningful limits on how companies can use data they collect from young users.
We are under no delusion that the enormity of the problem has one simple fix. Like many complex public health issues, the situation calls for a multipronged approach, one in which children are considered in the design of social media platforms, parents are empowered with meaningful tools to protect them, partnerships across industries exist and, perhaps most importantly, accountability exists.
But at this moment, the next step is clear, and we cannot let this opportunity pass. Lawmakers must advance the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act.