FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Contacts:
David Monahan, Fairplay: [email protected]
Grieving parent activists renew call for Congress to pass Kids Online Safety Act
78 parents who lost a child to social media harms urge Congress to pass digital platform design accountability bill ahead of visit to Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON, DC – TUESDAY, October 24, 2023 – Today, a group of parent and youth activists are visiting Capitol Hill to demand the passage of the Kids Online Safety Act (S. 1409). The activists comprise parents whose children suffered serious – and in some cases, fatal – social media harms as well as young people who experienced serious harms themselves.
Among the activists are parents who lost children to dangerous viral “challenges,” to suicide after relentless cyberbullying, and to accidental overdose and fentanyl poisoning from drugs purchased through social media. Other activists survived dangerous behaviors such as eating disorders that were encouraged by algorithmically-promoted content. You can read about those attending here.
The activists’ visit comes one year after their first visit to Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to pass meaningful social media reforms. In the year since their last visit, the survivor activists have met with dozens of lawmakers to urge them to support the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), helping the bill secure a total of 47 co-sponsors.
“Congressional action is way past due because the members have seen the evidence and science that supports the immediate need for KOSA,” said Maurine Molak, a parent activist who lost her son David to cyberbullying. “It is completely unacceptable to the grieving parents that have been advocating for KOSA over the past year when we continue to read about more children lost due to social media harms. Doing nothing is no longer an option and Congress must act now.”
On their visit to Capitol Hill, the activists are delivering a letter Tuesday urging the passage of KOSA from 78 parents of children who died as a result of social media harms. In the letter, which was organized by advocacy organizations Fairplay and Eating Disorders Coalition, the parents emphasized that despite attentive parenting, the risks created by Big Tech’s focus on profits above platform safety were impossible to address on an individual level. The lack of meaningful regulation coupled with the mental health crisis plaguing teens has created an emergency that must be addressed, according to the parent advocates.
“One year later, we are still waiting on Congress to do right by America’s kids, teens, and families. It’s chilling to think of the number of young people who have been harmed by social media companies’ bad design practices in the past year,” said Josh Golin, Executive Director of Fairplay. “The Kids Online Safety Act is the legislation we need to create a healthier, happier, safer internet for every young person online. It should not fall on grieving parents to make Congress understand how badly KOSA is needed.”
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