SENATE PASSES BILL TO PROTECT KIDS ONLINE AND MAKE TECH COMPANIES ACCOUNTABLE FOR HARMFUL CONTENT

The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday that is designed to protect children from dangerous online content, pushing forward with what would be the first major effort by Congress in decades to hold tech companies more accountable for the harm that they cause.

The bill, which passed 91-3, has been pushed by parents of children who died by suicide after online bullying or have otherwise been harmed by online content. It would force companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm on online platforms frequently used by minors, requiring them to exercise “duty of care” and ensure that they generally default to the safest settings possible.

The House has not yet acted on the bill. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he is “committed to working to find consensus,” but has not said whether he will bring it to the floor for a vote. Supporters are hoping that the strong Senate vote will push the House to act before the end of the congressional session in January.

President Joe Biden encouraged the House to send the legislation to his desk “without delay.”

“Today our children are subjected to a wild west online and our current laws and regulations are insufficient to prevent this,” Biden said. “It is past time to act.”

The legislation is about allowing children, teens and parents “to take back control of their lives online,” said Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who wrote the bill with Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. He said that the message to big tech companies is that “we no longer trust you to make decisions for us.”

The bill would be the first major tech regulation package to move in years, and it could potentially pave the way for other bills that would strengthen online privacy laws or set parameters for the growing use of artificial intelligence, among others. While there has long been bipartisan support for the idea that the biggest technology companies should face more government scrutiny, there has been little consensus on how it should be done. Congress passed legislation earlier this year that would force China-based social media company TikTok to sell or face a ban, but that law only targets one company.