Senator Jack Reed is celebrating the U.S. Senate's passage of the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act.
The bill was introduced by the Connecticut Democrat and Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and endorsed by the Rhode Island Senior Senator.
Reed says the measure is the first serious effort to reform the tech industry since 1998 and is a major win for the nation's children.
“It is past time for Congress to better protect minors online from the dangers associated with the use of social media platforms. There can and should be commonsense, appropriate guardrails to help parents protect their kids online while also upholding civil liberties and free speech. Today, the Senate came together on a bipartisan basis to strengthen children’s online privacy and safety laws and give parents more tools to protect their kids. After healthy debate and careful consideration, this targeted, bipartisan legislation would protect children’s privacy and restrict algorithms from pushing harmful content and endless scrolling onto kids. It would hold social media companies accountable for their actions and crack down on the practice of targeting teens with manipulative content,” said Senator Reed.
Although the measure has passed the Senate - it is unclear when the House will take up the bill. The House is on its annual August vacation.
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