US Senate passes bipartisan bill that aims to protect children online

JACKSON, Tenn. — The U.S. Senate passes legislation that they say will keep your child safe when using the internet.

This new bipartisan legislation was sponsored by a duo of senators, one of them being Republican Senator for Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn.

Senator Blackburn and Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, are calling the new legislation the Kids Online Safety Act.

“The Kids Online Safety Act is one of those pieces of legislation that you can say, ‘The time is right for that,'” said Blackburn.

Senator Blackburn says the new act will require safety by design and duty of care from social media companies, defeat algorithms that push harmful content to children, have a portal where parents and kids can report bad actors in the virtual space.

“It will give parents and kids a toolbox so they better protect themselves,” said Senator Blackburn.

The reasoning behind the bill? Senator Blumenthal says we are in the middle of a mental health crisis and that the crisis is exacerbated by social media and online content.

“Bullying, eating disorder, self-harm, anorexia, different kinds of anxieties associated with the constant content driven by social media repeatedly and addictively,” said Blumenthal.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz from Texas says “big tech” profits from pushing harmful content to children, driving them toward self-harm, depression, and anxiety. He also congratulated the senate on creating bipartisan legislation.

“There are a lot of issues that divide us but this is an issue where we’ve seen the senate come together with overwhelming bipartisan unity that we are going to protect our kids. This is a real shot across the bow of big tech,” said Cruz.

Senator Cruz also mentioned that President Biden himself has endorsed the bill.

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