U.S. Sen. Baldwin: Votes to hold Big Tech accountable and protect kids and teens online

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) voted to pass the Kids Online Safety & Privacy Act, which includes the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children’s and Teens Online Protection Act, bipartisan bills to protect children and teens online and hold Big Tech accountable. The bill provides kids and parents with better tools to protect against threats to children’s health and well-being online. The legislation passed the Senate 91-3 and now heads to the House of Representatives.

“Big Tech has shown us time and again that they are putting their bottom lines ahead of the well-being of our kids, and we cannot ignore the devastating toll it has taken on our children’s mental and physical well-being,” said Senator Baldwin. “I’ve heard absolutely devastating stories from parents and families in Wisconsin, like Annie, who lost her 13-year-old son, Griffin, after he participated in a blackout social media challenge. Parents and families deserve better from these Big Tech Companies, so today, I voted to do something about it. Our bills will help get this crisis under control, empowering parents, protecting kids from the harms online, and holding big tech accountable.”

“Today was a monumental step towards protecting our children from online harm. We have been traveling to DC for over two and a half years begging for change and are so relieved today that KOSA passed the Senate with a vigorous vote of 91-3. It’s our children and truly what matters most in this world,” said Griffin’s mother Annie McGrath. “The world stopped for us when we lost our children. Big tech needs to finally be held accountable, and today was a wonderful start.”

Griffin McGrath

The Kids Online Safety Act provides children and parents with the tools, safeguards, and transparency to protect against online harms. It establishes a duty of care for online platforms and requires them to activate the most protective settings for kids by default, providing minors with options to protect their information, disable addictive product features and opt-out of personalized algorithmic recommendations. Senator Baldwin is a cosponsor of this bipartisan bill, which has now passed the Senate as part of the Kids Online Safety & Privacy Act.

The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act bans online companies from collecting personal information from users between 13 and 16 years old without their consent. It bans targeted advertising to children and teens and creates an eraser button for parents and kids to eliminate personal information online.