Survivor Parents Express Disappointment in Hearing, Urge House E&C to Advance the Bipartisan Senate Version of KOSA

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Members of ParentsSOS, a coalition of 20 survivor families who have lost children to online harms, attended today’s hearing of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade on a compendium of online safety bills. Joann Bogard, mother of Mason Bogard, forever 15, issued the following statement on ParentsSOS’s behalf: 

“While we appreciate House Energy & Commerce for holding today’s discussion on a slew of bills to protect kids online, the hearing was ultimately a major disappointment. It needlessly delayed the House from advancing the wildly popular Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act, which gives parents the tools they need to keep their children safe. If the Committee continues to advance a weak version of KOSA and preempt good state laws, we will have no choice but to vocally oppose the package. 

“Instead of focusing on KOSA, a major proposal that the Senate and House have worked on for years, the Committee and Members spent time promoting a litany of newer, smaller bills that do not offer KOSA’s comprehensive protections. We strongly urge the Committee to adopt and advance the Senate version of KOSA that retains the duty of care provision and allows state laws to provide an additional layer of protection.

“We also extend our gratitude to Reps. Castor, Clarke, Dingell, Schakowsky, Trahan, and others for acknowledging survivor parents in the audience who have met with legislators year after year to advocate for a meaningful law to protect kids online. We agree with the Subcommittee members who stressed the need for a stronger version of KOSA that installs a duty of care on Big Tech companies to make their platforms safer for young users. 

“If the House truly wants to protect kids, it must adopt and advance the Senate version of KOSA, which has been thoroughly vetted and cosponsored by a bipartisan, filibuster-proof majority. We urge Committee leadership to work with KOSA’s lead sponsors to introduce and pass a stronger version of the bill.” ▪