FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, alongside a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from around the country, urged Congressional leadership to protect children from online harm and pass the Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
The letter, signed by 40 attorneys general, was circulated to House and Senate leadership in advance of potential consideration of the House version of KOSA, H.R. 6484, which contains expansive preemption language. States have pioneered laws that promote online safety for minors, and attorneys general expressed concern in their letter that the provisions in H.R. 6484 (unlike the version being considered by the Senate) could undermine existing and future state laws designed to protect children online and would limit states’ ability to respond to and address new and emerging online harms.
In the letter, the attorneys general expressed support for the Senate version of KOSA, S. 1748, which includes a key Duty of Care requirement while enhancing and preserving states’ authority to enforce and strengthen online protection for minors.
This push for federal legislation comes as many state attorneys general offices have launched investigations and lawsuits against major social media platforms like Meta and TikTok for their targeting of underage users. The attorneys general emphasized the urgency of Congressional action as scrutiny of social media companies intensifies and evidence mounts regarding the harmful impact of addictive design features on children and teens.
Attorney General Brown is sending this letter to Congressional leadership alongside the Attorneys General of the sponsoring states of Connecticut, Hawaiʻi, Ohio, and Tennessee, who are joined by American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wyoming.
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