|
Today, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0).
Thank you, Senators, for standing up to Big Tech For the Sake of the Children!
Enough Is Enough® (EIE) has been a staunch advocate of this critical child online safety legislation throughout its years in the Senate process.
Preventing the online exploitation of children is a non-partisan issue that has wide bi-partisan support, as it should. Unfortunately, while every child deserves a protected age of innocence, sadly, the very digital environment where so many vulnerable children seek companionship and compassion, has become the very vehicle that has backfired to cause them harm and, in some instances, their very lives.
KOSA will make explicit a "duty of care" that social media companies have when it comes to minors using their products, offering parents and youth tools and safeguards to protect them online.
COPPA 2.0 will widen the parental consent requirement for data collection to include information and ban companies from targeting kids and teens with advertising. EIE leadership strongly encouraged that privacy protections currently in place be extended from kids aged 13 to kids age 16. This is huge!
Too many children have been sacrificed online due to the misguided notion that big tech companies get a "no responsibility/no accountability free pass" when it comes to doing their part.
EIE offers its highest gratitude to all of the bi-partisan sponsors of KOSA and COPPA 2.0, our allies across America and the survivors and Gold Star parents who have supported these critical bills. Each bill puts a stake in the ground that says "Enough Is Enough®!". It takes all of us, working together to safeguard our children, our future.
Remember, making the internet safer for children and families is a marathon, a war. Today's Senate success marks a huge victory!
What's next? Both bills need to pass the House of Representatives, currently on recess until September, to become law.
Thank you to our EIE family of supporters and friends for standing with us in our mission to make the internet safer for children and families.
With gratitude,
Donna and the team at Enough Is Enough®
|
