A coalition of attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leadership Tuesday opposing the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, or KIDS Act, which would weaken states’ ability to protect children online while insulating Big Tech from accountability.
The coalition warned against the KIDS Act’s broad preemption of state laws addressing online harms to minors, including social media harms, obscenity, social gaming platforms, and artificial intelligence chatbots.
Congress should instead pass legislation that includes a meaningful duty of care requirement for online platforms, Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement. A duty of care obligation would require tech companies to design their platforms with safety for youth at the forefront.
“For years, tech companies have placed profits ahead of the safety of our children, designing platforms that are so addictive that kids forgo sleep, play, and in-person socializing just to keep scrolling,” Brown said. “Because Congress refuses to act, they should get out of the way of states advancing sensible legislation to protect kids from damaging content online.”
Attorneys general across the country, including Washington, continue investigations into and litigation against major social media platforms, including Meta and TikTok, over allegations that their platforms target and harm underage users and improperly collect and profit from using their data.
Some of the other attorney generals signing the letter are from the states of Connecticut, Ohio, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
