FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 12, 2026
CONTACT:
Ashwin Verghese, [email protected], 508-263-0289
Cruz Promises KOSA Will Pass Committee, Become Law This Year
Today, the Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, Ted Cruz (R-TX), made a surprise appearance at a rally organized by parents who lost children to online harms and online safety advocates.
Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) also attended the Mother’s Day-themed rally on Capitol Hill to urge the Senate to pass, S.1748, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) this year.
Senator Cruz made a commitment to getting KOSA signed into law by the end of the year at the event: “We passed KOSA in the last Congress out of the Senate, we’re going to pass it out of the Commerce Committee, we’re going to pass it in the Senate [again], and we are going to work hand-in-hand [with House leadership] to get it passed through the House and get it put on the President’s desk and get it signed into law this year.”
Watch the video clip of Cruz’s remark.
Senator Blackburn reintroduced the legislation in May 2025 alongside Senator Blumenthal after it passed the Senate in 2024 with a 91-3 vote. KOSA would require social media companies to ensure their platforms’ design does not cause or exacerbate serious harms to minors, including addiction, suicide, sexual exploitation, eating disorders and mental health harms.
“The landmark social media verdicts in California and New Mexico have reminded our nation of one thing: Courts can punish past harms, but it is up to Congress to prevent future ones,” said Senator Blackburn. “Americans are not interested in toothless reforms, which is why we need to get the Senate version of KOSA to the President’s desk. It’s time for Congress to choose the American people over Big Tech’s bottom line.”
Parent survivors came together to urge lawmakers to skip the chocolates and flowers this Mother’s Day and finally get KOSA across the finish line this year. Survivor parents continue to demonstrate the unwavering power of a mother’s love in their fight to save other children’s lives by tirelessly advocating for Congress to pass KOSA. The rally served as the week’s cornerstone event and called on the Senate to move KOSA forward without further delay.
“Let me just say: thank you. I know being here causes many of you to relive a pain that is beyond words. I can only imagine, because I haven’t lived through it, what it would be like to lose your child,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal. “And you bring your stories here to relive that pain with such courage and grace that I am truly in awe. Your courage ought to inspire every single member of the United States Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act.”
The theme of Mother’s Day fueled a week of action driven by advocates for keeping our kids safe online. The week uplifted the voices of mothers who lost children to online harms. For them, this is deeply personal. It is about empty bedrooms, unanswered phone calls, birthdays that will never be celebrated, and the unbearable reality of parents outliving their children.
The actress Eva Mendes supported today’s effort over the Mother’s Day weekend via her Instagram account, stating, “Out of the universal unconditional love a mother feels for her child-may we please stand in solidarity with these bereaved mothers and ask bipartisan lawmakers to: Protect our children. Please pass comprehensive legislation this year that will protect them from online harms.”
Cheryl Brown, mother of McKenna Brown, forever 17, founding member of ParentsSOS, emphasized the critical necessity of holding tech giants accountable for the intentional design of their products. “While we can never get back what was taken from our families, we can ensure no other mother has to face an empty chair at the dinner table this Mother’s Day because a social media platform prioritized engagement over a child’s life,” said Brown. “Passing KOSA isn’t just a policy goal; it’s a life-saving intervention that finally forces these companies to clean up the digital environment they’ve allowed to become toxic.”
Carrie Baeten, mother of Jack McDonough, forever 18, founding member of ParentsSOS, spoke to the profound personal weight of the holiday and the power of collective parent advocacy, “Flowers and cards are a kind gesture, but for those of us who have lost children to online harms, the only gift that matters is the safety of the children still here,” said Baeten. “We are standing on Capitol Hill today to tell the Senate that 76 cosponsors is a powerful start, but it’s not a finished job—our children deserve a vote and a law that protects their mental health and their lives.”
KOSA has strong bipartisan support and strong protections and has transcended party politics, underscoring the significance and power of this issue. The legislation currently has 76 cosponsors in the Senate.
Along with the rally, there is an online “Mother’s Day card” urging the public to sign in support of the legislation, it currently has garnered nearly 2000 signatures in support of the legislation.
Photos of the rally are here. A recording of the rally is here.
Rally Hosts included:
Becca Schmill Foundation
David Legacy Foundation
Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action
Fairplay
Inseparable
Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation
ParentsSOS
SAVE-Suicide Awareness Voices of Education
Event Sponsors included:
Digital Childhood Alliance
Digital Childhood Institute
Heat Initiative.
Institute for Families and Technology
NCOSE
Parents RISE
Event endorsers included:
Alexander Neville Foundation
Buckets Over Bullying
Devin J. Norring Foundation
Emmy’s Champions
Erik’s Cause
Grace McComas Memorial
Issue One
Kids at Risk
Lynn’s Warriors
Mason’s Message
Matthew E. Minor Awareness Foundation
Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA)
No App For Life
No Traffiking Zone
Not On our Watch Texas
ParentsTogether Action
Social Media Harms
Talk More. Tech Less.
Tech Safe Learning Coalition
TexProtects
The McKenna Way
Unbound Now
Unite for Safe Social Media
Walker’s Mission
WithAll
Young People’s Alliance
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About Fairplay
Fairplay is the leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in an increasingly commercialized, screen-obsessed culture, and the only organization dedicated to ending marketing to children. Fairplay works to enhance children’s well-being by eliminating the exploitative and harmful business practices of marketers and Big Tech. Learn more at www.fairplayforkids.org.