Legislation would update online safeguards for children
Editor's note: The following guest column by Republican Louisiana U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor, and Soribel Feliz, a technology fellow, was submitted to the Louisiana USA Today Network.
Today, the internet is an integral part of children's lives.
It offers access to knowledge, entertainment and connection. However, it also presents dangers by exposing children to harmful content, online predators and privacy violations. As such, lawmakers have an obligation to ensure that children are protected online. To live up to this obligation, we must update our current framework for children's online protection and ensure that the privacy of children is respected.
The current armor protecting children's internet activity is the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which was passed into law 1998. While well suited for the internet of the late 1990s, online technology has transformed dramatically over the last 25 years. We cannot expect rules from a quarter century ago to cover activities and practices that, for the most part, did not exist when the law was written.
For example, COPPA does not prevent advertising targeted at children and teens. Today, algorithms track nearly every click from website to website, and then create individualized profiles of one's interests and desires. This data is then provided to advertisers who target ads at the individualized level. Such targeted advertising did not exist when COPPA was initially written.
Additionally, online experiences have drastically expanded, exposing children to risks they may not have the maturity to navigate independently, such as cyberbullying, adult content, violence and predatory behavior.
More importantly, COPPA also only covers children up to 13 — an outdated age limit due to children's increased ability to access the internet at much younger ages. Today, 95% of teenagers between 13 and 17 report using social media, according to the U.S. Surgeon General.
To bring tech policy into the 21st century, I introduced the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act—or COPPA 2.0 — with Sen. Ed Markey, DMass. Our goal is to modernize the law to reflect the evolution in internet use and guard against the online practices fueling today's youth mental health crisis.
By expanding age protections from 13 to 17, banning targeted advertising, limiting data collection and strengthening parental controls, COPPA 2.0 would enable safer online experiences and guard against exposure to manipulation and exploitation. To take this a step further, I introduced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) alongside Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
There, our goal is to empower parents and prevent children from watching inappropriate content. The bill requires covered platforms, like social media sites, to provide controls that allow parents to supervise their children's activity and restrict access to their children's personal data. Online platforms will also be required to disclose data on their targeted advertising and personalized recommendation systems.
The Jan. 31,2024, Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding online child exploitation, highlighted how not enough is being done to prioritize children's online safety. The hearing exposed issues including the lack of accountability for harmful content and the failure of platforms to effectively self-police.
More importantly, the hearing highlighted the need for more transparency. Currently, there are many questions parents would like answers to. What are companies doing to protect children from inappropriate content? How frequently are children viewing what could be considered borderline or sensitive content? Is inappropriate content being recommended to children?
The answers to these questions will allow parents to make informed decisions when considering enabling parental controls and deciding what platforms they're comfortable with their children using.
Childhood and adolescence are critical stages of brain development, making young people especially vulnerable to harm online. To make the internet a safer and healthier environment for American children and teenagers, we need transparency from online platforms and for Congress to take real steps toward protecting our kids.