WASHINGTON, April 5, 2025 – A bipartisan consensus is emerging around the need to protect children from the harms of social media, but experts warned Wednesday that current measures are insufficient – and that Congress must act soon.
The discussion highlighted growing bipartisan support for the Kids Online Safety Act while revealing divisions over implementation details.
“The duty of care is the heart of the bill,” said Rick Lane, founder of IGGY Ventures and former executive at 21st Century Fox. “Any platform knows that once we get a duty of care provision in, that makes them vulnerable to lawsuits.”
Broadband Breakfast on April 2, 2025 – Kids and Social Media: The Business of Keeping Young Users Safe
The business decisions of tech companies have a significant impact on young users.
The legislation, which received 93 votes in the U.S. Senate but stalled in the House, would establish safety obligations for platforms used by minors and give parents more oversight tools.
Rising online risk for children drive urgency
Donna Rice Hughes, CEO of Enough Is Enough, emphasized the urgency for congressional action, citing alarming statistics about online risks.
“Kids are not just suffering from mental, emotional and sexual harm, they’re actually dying,” Hughes said. “Sextortion is the fastest growing cybercrime in America connected to over 30 deaths of teen boys by suicide since 2021.”
John Perrino, senior policy expert at the Internet Society, acknowledged KOSA contains “so much positive” content but identified the duty of care provision as the main sticking point between child safety advocates and free expression defenders.
“Until we come up with an agreed content-neutral, design-specific approach, I don’t see KOSA going forward, and that’s really unfortunate,” Perrino said.
Balancing protections with benefits of social media
Dr. Michal Luria of the Center for Democracy and Technology advocated for more nuanced approaches that recognize both benefits and risks of social media for young users.
“Youth choose to use social media primarily to connect with their peers, to connect with community, to feel accepted and find social support,” Luria said. “There are many strengths and positive aspects of social media and the way that young people use them.”
Stephen Balkam, founder of the Family Online Safety Institute, contrasted two influential recent works on youth and technology: Jonathan Haidt‘s book “The Anxious Generation” and the Netflix series “Adolescence.”
“We believe in protecting kids on the internet, not from the internet,” Balkam said. “If we do that, what happens at 16 that they suddenly have to get revved up to know how to deal with everything that’s going to be coming at them?”
Strategies for parents and platforms
Panelists agreed that parents should delay smartphone and social media access for children, with some supporting the “Wait Until 8th” movement that encourages delaying smartphone purchases until 8th grade.
Lane emphasized that safety by design is particularly important for vulnerable children without parental guidance.
“I worry about not just the kids who have parents who care, but what about the kids who don’t have parents? Kids in foster care, kids who just don’t have that relationship – we can’t forget about them,” Lane said.
The experts acknowledged that simply delaying access without education and ongoing conversation is insufficient.
“Delaying can help kids mature and develop their judgment, but still, when they’re 16, then what?” Luria asked. “How do we help them onboard and understand this complicated ecosystem?”
Hughes and Perrino both pointed to available resources from organizations like Internet Safety 101 and Common Sense Media to help parents navigate these challenges.
From self-regulation to government intervention
The conversation highlighted the shift from industry self-regulation to calls for meaningful government intervention after what Hughes called “decades of failure for self-regulation.”
“It went from self-regulation mindset to ‘move fast and break things’ and no regulation,” Lane said, explaining his evolution toward supporting stronger guardrails.
Balkam noted global regulatory developments, expressing concern about the U.S. government challenging European and UK online safety laws on First Amendment grounds.
“This administration is now going after that regulation, and that just blows my mind,” Balkam said.
Senators Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., co-sponsors of the KOSA bill, have recently announced their intention to reintroduce the bill to the new Congress.
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Broadband Breakfast on April 2, 2025 – Kids and Social Media: The Business of Keeping Young Users Safe
The business decisions of tech companies have a significant impact on young users.
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