Hinds Today

U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today voted for Senate passage of sweeping legislation intended to establish new standards for holding Big Tech accountable in order to protect children from online dangers.

Hyde-Smith is an original cosponsor of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which the Senate approved Tuesday on a 91-3 vote. It is the first significant legislation to protect children on the internet since Congress last acted in 1998—well before the widespread use of the internet or smartphones.

“We live in a completely different world than we did 25 years ago in terms of communications and technology. The Senate has now acted to address the dangers our children face from social media platforms by giving parents and their children better tools to protect themselves from those threats,” Hyde-Smith said.

Like the original KOSA, the legislation approved by the Senate continues to;

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) authored the original KOSA, which has the support of hundreds of advocacy and technology groups like Common Sense Media, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Compass, Eating Disorders Coalition, Fairplay, Mental Health America, and Digital Progress Institute.

The legislation (S.2073), which also includes the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act will be referred to the House of Representatives for consideration.