Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and 39 other attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders asking them to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the bill in May 2025 to protect children when using the internet. This was the fourth time KOSA has been introduced in Congress.
In 2024, KOSA passed the Senate but did not pass the House.
KOSA would require social media platforms to give minors the option of protecting their information, stop addictive product features for minors, and withdraw personalized algorithmic recommendations.
Furthermore, KOSA grants parents the authority to protect their children and identify harmful behaviors. The bill proposal also allows parents and teachers to have a specific channel to report harmful behavior.
KOSA says online platforms will need to stop the promotion of suicide, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and other harmful dangers to minors.
The bill proposal would also mandate independent audits to ensure online platforms take the required steps and conduct research to assess their effect on minors.
In the attorneys general’s letter, they said they recognized “the serious and growing threats that social media platforms pose to minors.”
“Many social media platforms deliberately target minors, fueling a nationwide youth mental health crisis. These platforms are intentionally designed to be addictive, particularly for underaged users, and generate substantial profits by monetizing minors’ personal data through targeted advertising,” they wrote.
The attorneys general said social media platforms are not properly disclosing “the addictive nature of their products or the well-documented harms associated with excessive social media
use.”
Evidence shows that these companies are aware of the harmful “mental health consequences imposed on underage users, yet they have chosen to persist in these practices,” the attorneys general stated.
They said they support the Senate’s version of KOSA but oppose the House’s version due to its “expansive preemption language.”
The House’s version’s preemption language “would expressly limit the states’ ability to address evolving online harms in the future,” they noted.
Another concern the attorneys general had regarding the House’s KOSA is the lack of “Duty of Care” component.
“In lieu of a Duty of Care, H.R. 6484 merely requires that companies have ‘reasonable policies, practices, and procedures’ that address a limited list of harms,” the attorneys general wrote.
“But this language will not deliver meaningful change. Many of these companies already maintain policies about the same limited list of harms—and those self-serving policies have not protected our states’ minors from injury,” they added.
The attorneys general requested the House’s KOSA align with the Senate’s version.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
