Blackburn, Blumenthal Joint Statement on House Leadership’s Refusal to Allow a Vote on the Kids Online Safety Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released the following statement on the status of passing the Kids Online Safety Act in the 118^th Congress:

"While the House has refused to take up the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, countless children and teens have died from suicide, mental health disorders, predation, bullying, and drug use fostered and fueled by Big Tech.

One of these victims, Jesse Harrington, was a 15-year-old boy who wanted to be a firefighter and died by suicide in October after becoming addicted to Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, while the House sat on its hands at the behest of Mark Zuckerberg. The House's active obstruction of the Kids Online Safety Act will tragically result in the deaths of even more children like Jesse.

To be clear: the blockade against safeguards and accountability was about padding Big Tech's financial bottom line, not principle. For nearly four years, we have worked with more than 240 organizations and colleagues across the political spectrum to craft bipartisan legislation to protect children online from Big Tech abuses - legislation that passed the Senate on a 91-3 vote. Yet falsehoods crafted in Silicon Valley boardrooms and parroted by Washington politicians, along with millions of dollars spent along the way, held up KOSA in the House to advance Meta and Google's goal of profiting off our children.

We are thankful to Senate leadership, most especially Senators Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, John Thune, Ted Cruz, and Maria Cantwell and the powerful bipartisan coalition that supported KOSA and continues to believe it is necessary. We are grateful for the many free speech advocates who saw through Big Tech's lies and smokescreen, including Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino, and Donald Trump, Jr. It was House Republican leadership who chose not to move this bill forward despite overwhelming support.

We will continue the strongly bipartisan fight on the Kids Online Safety Act for the young people and parents across the country that have spoken up and demanded reforms from Big Tech. The American public deserves to know that their families and kids' lives are more important than Meta and Google's profits." - Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal

• Blackburn, Blumenthal Statement on New 'X' Negotiated KOSA Text