The US Senate could pass bills to protect children from
the dangers of social media as soon as this week.
Our Capital correspondent Jamie Deline tells us about one of
those bills and how it's similar to the legislation that
New York recently signed into law.
the US Senate plans on bringing the Kids Online Safety
Act to the floor.
I met with many parents from New York and from
around the country whose kids took their own lives because
of what happened to them on social media.
Some of these kids were bullied.
Others were targeted by predators or had their personal private
information stolen.
One of those parents is Mary Rhodey.
She's been advocating for more legislation after losing her son,
Riley.
I met with him in May when he promised to
get this done, so I'm really glad that it's happening.
According to Senator Schumer's office, Cosa will give kids and
teens the option to opt out of algorithmic feeds, limit
the promotion of harmful behavior such as suicide, allow parents
to control how their child's information is used, and create
a channel to report harmful behavior.
As for when action can be taken on the bill,
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer provided an update on Tuesday.
Members should prepare for a closer vote on the message
as soon as Thursday.
I hope that there's no more roadblocks to getting this
done because it's been a long time coming.
It's unclear when the bill will see movement in the
House of Representatives.
New York State recently passed a similar bill called the
Safer Kids Act Governor Kathy Hochul mentioned it on Wednesday
during a roundtable discussion about mental health and smartphone usage
in schools.
I'm very proud of our efforts to rein in the
addictive algorithms.
The state law will require platforms to restrict addictive feeds
for children younger than 18 and less parental consent is
given.
It will also turn off social media alerts for kids
between the hours of midnight and 6:00 AM.
The Office of the Attorney General is working on the
regulatory process of the law reporting in Albany.
I'm Jamie Deline.