Parents Lobby Congress for Kids Online Safety Act After Meta, Google Jury Verdicts

U.S. Capitol this week to advocate for online safety legislation, Fox News reported. U.S. Capitol on Tuesday afternoon, with many parents holding pictures of their deceased children. , lost her 17-year-old daughter to fentanyl poisoning after a man the daughter met on Instagram sold her what she thought was Percocet for her anxiety.

Arnold attended a Los Angeles trial where a jury in March found Meta negligent for operating a platform that addicted a young user and created mental health distress. The same Los Angeles jury in March found Google’s YouTube negligent for knowingly addicting and harming a young woman.

Separately, a New Mexico jury found Meta failed to protect against child sexual exploitation and misled consumers about the safety of its platform, ordering Meta to pay a $345 million fine.

Meta and Google have vowed to appeal both rulings. ' Arnold and other family members of victims spoke to reporters outside Los Angeles Superior Court on March 25 after the jury found Meta and YouTube negligent. ' The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has 74 cosponsors in the Senate.

The legislation includes a 'duty of care' provision legally requiring tech companies to tailor their platforms to children’s safety and omits preemption language that would restrict states’ ability to regulate online safety. KOSA has yet to advance out of the Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

The bill has not received a chamber-wide vote in the Senate. , has endorsed KOSA. , has also endorsed the legislation.