Bipartisan Bill To Protect Kids From Social Media Harms Stalled In Senate

WASHINGTON — A bill aimed at forcing tech companies to protect children from the dangers of social media has stalled in the U.S. Senate despite overwhelming bipartisan support.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that he’s trying to get the entire chamber on board with the legislation so it can pass without the time-consuming process of beating a filibuster.

“After weeks of work, we have made real progress in removing objections to this bill,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Sadly, objectors remain.”

With nearly 70 cosponsors, the legislation has more than enough support to pass on a roll-call vote. But procedural votes can take several days, meaning Democrats would lose time for other priorities, such as confirming federal judges. Senators have only a handful of weeks left on their work calendar before the November elections.

The Kids Online Safety Act is a complex bill that, among other things, would create a “duty of care” rule for social media companies to shield minors from potentially harmful material, such as videos encouraging eating disorders, and it would require platforms to allow minors to opt out of algorithms that serve up addictive content.

A group called Parents for Safe Online Spaces, consisting of parents who’ve lost children because of online harms — such as the viral “blackout challenge” on TikTok — sent Schumer a letter earlier this week saying that he’d pledged to hold a vote on the bill by Thursday. The vote didn’t happen.

“We are disappointed that the deadline has been missed because families can’t wait any longer for a safer internet,” the group said in a statement to HuffPost after the Senate adjourned Thursday. “But we appreciate Leader Schumer’s comments on the floor today