Sullivan, Senate Advance Legislation to Protect Youth Health and Safety Online

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, today voted to pass the Kids Online Safety and Protection Act, legislation to protect the health, wellbeing, and privacy of children online. This bill combines provisions from the Kids Online Safety Act, of which Sen. Sullivan was an original cosponsor, and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act to combat harmful online content targeted towards minors and to encourage parent and guardian involvement in their children's online activities. Sen. Sullivan has long advocated for accountability from social media platforms in regard to youth mental health, especially as suicide rates among adolescents have skyrocketed over the last decade.

"In my 2023 speech to the Alaska legislature, I told Alaska's elected leaders that this would be a big battle, but that I'd fight to shake the vise grip social media has on our children," Senator Sullivan said. "The Kids Online Safety and Protection Act is a necessary first step in holding Big Tech accountable for the content they push towards our kids, and giving parents the tools to be more involved in their kids' online activity, but we have more work to do. As a parent, it is impossible not to hear stories about young people seemingly addicted to their phones and social media accounts. Even those who aren't parents know something is horribly amiss with a whole generation who have been so addicted by Big Tech that they can't seem to look up from their phones. More troubling, suicide rates among adolescents have increased dramatically in the last decade with the rise of social media. We must do more to protect our children. We can have the strongest economy, the best quality of life, but none of that means anything if our kids are depressed and are considering ending their lives because of what they're consuming online."

Below is a timeline of Sen. Sullivan's work on Big Tech accountability and mental health:

• In May 2024, Sen. Sullivan launched the "One Pill Can Kill - Alaska" campaign to combat the increase in fentanyl-related deaths in Alaska and across the country.
• In August 2023, Sen. Sullivan published an op-ed in the Anchorage Daily News encouraging Alaskans to unite to address the youth mental health crisis.
• In July 2023, Senator Sullivan hosted U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in Anchorage for a series of town hall-style roundtables to discuss the mental health crisis among youth, how social media impacts the crisis, and what can be done to combat it.
• In July 2023, Sen. Sullivan introduced the Advancing Digital Support (ADS) for Mental Health Services Act, which would require reporting on targeted advertising and encourage online advertisers to dedicate some of their ads to mental health PSAs.
• In April 2023, Sen. Sullivan introduced Bruce's Law with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to bolster federal prevention and education efforts surrounding fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that is increasingly being incorporated into illicit street drugs. The measure was named after an Alaskan, Robert "Bruce" Snodgrass, who tragically passed away in 2021 at the age of 22 from fentanyl poisoning.
• In February 2023, Sen. Sullivan spoke to the Alaska Legislature during his annual address emphasizing the need to hold social media platforms accountable for the role they play in the ongoing youth mental health crisis.
• In January 2023, Sen. Sullivan sent a letter calling for hearings and potential congressional action on TikTok related to privacy issues, national security concerns, and the troubling influence over youth associated with the platform.
• In March 2021, Sen. Sullivan introduced the Leveraging Integrated Networks in Communities (LINC) to Address Social Needs Actto expand collaborative care in Alaska to make it easier for health care and social service providers to work together for the benefit of patients' whole health. This legislation was signed into law in December 2022, with similar legislation for veterans introduced in July 2023.
• In April 2018, Sen. Sullivan questioned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a joint Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committee hearing about Facebook's market dominance and responsibility for published content.
• In August 2016, Sen. Sullivan hosted an opioid summit to address Alaska's unique challenges dealing with opioid and heroin abuse. The summit was attended by Dr. Murthy, as well as members from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Veterans Health Administration, and several Alaska health care administrators.

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