This week, Fairplay furthered the fight to protect kids online: Executive Director Josh Golin testified before Congress for the second time in our organization’s history.
On February 14, Josh appeared as a witness at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Protecting Our Children Online hearing. In his testimony and in answers to lawmakers, Josh explained the many harms facing kids and teens online today, how practices to keep kids online are especially troublesome, and how Congress can take action to protect young people.
Josh’s testimony comes on the heels of the two recent filings that call upon the Federal Trade Commission to more closely regulate surveillance advertising and engagement tactics aimed at kids and incredible progress in the legislature last year with the near passage of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Protection Act (COPPA 2.0)– two bills that would get us closer to a design code for the US that would put the best interests of kids first when designing online platforms.
During the hearing, Josh responded to questions from a number of senators and emphasized the importance of a comprehensive approach to keeping kids safe online, noting that single-stream approaches like studying transparency and keeping kids off social media are not enough on their own.
You can read Josh’s written testimony here. Check out the videos below to watch some highlights from Josh’s appearance on Capitol Hill.