U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), authors of the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, released the following statement today after the House of Representatives approved stripped down legislation that weakens Senate-passed strong protections for kids online: 

“Instead of passing a federal standard that will protect America’s children from Big Tech’s greed, the House of Representatives just passed legislation that is a pale imitation of Big Tech accountability. The House’s decision to strip out the Duty of Care will only maintain the status quo in which Big Tech uses our kids as profit centers and leaves parents to pick up the pieces. We will not back down from the fight to pass the stronger, more widely supported version of the Kids Online Safety Act, and we will not greenlight hollow reforms that allow Big Tech’s predatory business model to remain intact.”

Blackburn and Blumenthal are the lead sponsors of the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, which would provide kids and parents with better tools to protect themselves online, hold Big Tech accountable for harms to kids, and provide transparency into black box algorithms. The legislation has 75 total co-sponsors and was approved by the Senate in a bipartisan 91-3 vote.