Holding photos of their deceased children, parents lobby Congress to pass online safety legislation
WASHINGTON — Clad in black clothing and clutching posters of their deceased children, dozens of parents went to Capitol Hill this week for Wednesday’s explosive Senate hearing with the CEOs of the major tech companies in the hot seat.
WASHINGTON — Clad in black clothing and clutching posters of their deceased children, dozens of parents went to Capitol Hill this week for Wednesday’s explosive Senate hearing with the CEOs of the major tech companies in the hot seat.
On Thursday, after the chief executives of X, Meta, Snap, Discord and TikTok were gone, they stayed behind to personally lobby members of Congress to pass legislation they say could help prevent more families from experiencing the tragedies that they have.
The Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA for short, was introduced two years ago by bipartisan duo Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. If passed and enacted into law, it would provide children and their parents with more safeguards and tools to protect their well-being online. The bill requires online platforms to prevent or mitigate the promotion of self-harm, eating disorders, sexual exploitation and substance abuse to minors under the age of 16.
The parents, mostly moms, who traveled from across the country said they see real momentum toward passing the bill after Wednesday’s hearing.
“It’s a David and Goliath story,” Maurine Molak, whose son, David, died by suicide at the age of 16 after monthslong cyberbullying on Instagram, told NBC News on Thursday.
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