Eight years ago, my son David died by suicide at 16. His death followed a yearlong battle with social media and online gaming addiction as well as months of intense and threatening cyberbullying that left him feeling helpless and hopeless. Even though we made sure he had mental health support, it was not enough. His death has been an immeasurable tragedy. When I see David’s empty chair at Christmas dinner, I know that the pain of his loss will never go away.
Since David’s death, I have become a staunch advocate for the Kids Online Safety Act. This lifesaving legislation would finally hold Big Tech accountable for the dangers its social media platforms pose, such as those that cost me my son.
Sadly, I am just one of many survivor parents who have suffered the death of a child because of cyberbullying, deadly viral challenges, sextortion, and other online harms. We know that if the Kids Online Safety Act had been law earlier, our children would still be with us today.
But more than two years after it was first introduced, we are still waiting for our elected officials to pass this legislation. In that time, countless families have lost children to online harms. The Senate did its part and passed the Kids Online Safety Act with a resounding 91-3 vote in July. Now the House must follow suit in the handful of days left to get this done.
Several prominent Republican leaders, including Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, new Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), the new chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), have co-sponsored this bill. In partnership with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), they must now ensure this critical legislation becomes law. This is not about politics. It’s about saving lives.
In the past, opponents of the Kids Online Safety Act have raised concerns that it would censor speech and give too much power to unelected bureaucrats. Look, I’m a Republican too, and I also believe in limited government. But I know this bill will not infringe on anyone’s First Amendment rights. Nor will it allow federal appointees to overreach.
What the Kids Online Safety Act would actually do is finally hold social media platforms accountable for their dangerous products. But that requires a cop on the beat.
Under the key part of the law, the cop would be the Federal Trade Commission. The bipartisan regulatory agency would be charged with ensuring online platforms are designed with appropriate safeguards.
The Kids Online Safety Act was carefully crafted in consultation with tech, psychology, and legal experts to protect kids from the cutting-edge technology social media companies employ to maximize children’s engagement. The Kids Online Safety Act, in response, mandates a safety-by-design approach, requiring platforms to disable features that lead children to compulsive use, to adjust their algorithms to ensure they are not sending kids down dangerous rabbit holes of pro-suicide and pro-eating disorder content, and to ensure that their design is not making young people targets for online predators and drug dealers.
But the FTC has no power to censor political viewpoints or any specific content posted on social media, and the bill would not give it any. Nor can the FTC restrict what users, even minors, can search. That the Kids Online Safety Act would censor anyone is simply a myth spread by Big Tech and its lobbying arms. Quite simply, this bill is about ensuring children are safe online, not policing speech.
The authors of the law have listened to all the reasonable concerns and addressed them. All that is left is politics — and the greed of an irresponsible industry.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The fact that the Kids Online Safety Act gained support from stalwart conservatives and passed the Senate with that decisive July vote is a testament to the Republican consensus on the Kids Online Safety Act and the GOP leadership’s commitment to safeguarding our children’s future. Outside of government, the bill maintains support from many influential conservative voices as well as the 90% of Republican voters who believe Congress should protect children online.
Over the next few days, leaders in both chambers of Congress will decide what legislation will be attached to must-pass legislative packages. Congress can deliver an extraordinary Christmas gift by passing the Kids Online Safety Act, protecting millions of children from online harms. What a tremendous win that would be for American families.
Maurine Molak is the co-founder of ParentsSOS and David’s Legacy Foundation and is the mother of David Molak.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
