ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL URGES CONGRESS TO PASS KIDS ONLINE SAFETY ACT

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL URGES CONGRESS TO PASS KIDS ONLINE SAFETY ACT

November 19, 2024

Bipartisan Coalition of AGs Seeks Protections to Enhance Safety and Prevent Addiction

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 32 attorneys general, called on Congressional leadership to pass the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), legislation that protects children from online harm, before the end of the year. In a letter to Congressional leaders, the coalition emphasized the urgent need to address the growing youth mental health crisis linked to social media use, with studies showing minors spend more than five hours daily online.

"American children and teenagers are in the grip of a devastating mental health crisis," Raoul said. "The addictive features on many social media platforms interfere with sleep and education, and contribute to depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and thoughts of self-harm. I am proud to join my fellow attorneys general in urging Congress to approve the Kids Online Safety Act and require companies to take reasonable steps to protect young people from harm online."

Raoul and the attorneys general highlighted several key aspects of KOSA that would enhance online protections for minors:

• Mandatory default safety settings would require that platforms automatically enable their strongest safety protections for minors rather than burying these features behind opt-in screens.
• Addiction prevention provisions would allow young users and their parents to disable manipulative design features and algorithmic recommendations that keep children endlessly scrolling.
• Parental empowerment provisions would provide parents with new tools to identify harmful behaviors and improved capabilities to report dangerous content.

The letter is part of Attorney General Raoul's ongoing efforts to protect children online and address the negative impacts of social media platforms on young Illinois residents.

In October, Raoul announced a lawsuit against TikTok for its harmful business practices targeting children and allegedly deceiving the public about the social media platform's dangers.

In September 2024, Raoul joined a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general calling on Congress to pass legislation requiring a U.S. surgeon general warning on all algorithm-driven social media platforms. In October 2023, Raoul announced a lawsuit, backed by a bipartisan coalition of states, against Meta Platforms Inc., the company that owns and operates Facebook and Instagram, for promoting its social media platform to children and young adults despite its use being associated with physical and mental health harms.

Raoul is joined in sending the letter by the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming.