STATEMENT: Survivor Parents Applaud the Senate Commerce Committee’s Decision to Markup the Kids Online Safety Act

(Washington, D.C.) — Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS), a coalition of families who have lost children due to online harms, issued the following statement regarding the announcement that the Senate Commerce Committee will markup the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) on August 5:

“As parents who have lost children to online harms, we are glad to know that KOSA is scheduled for markup next week. We have championed this bipartisan bill for many years because its duty of care and safeguards are needed to prevent other children from dying as our own children did. 

Two years ago, we celebrated with Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal when KOSA passed the Senate with a 91 to 3 vote. We stand here again, united in our grief, and grateful still for their indefatigable commitment and leadership on this bill, which now has bipartisan support from over three-quarters of the Senate. 

We are also deeply grateful to Chair Ted Cruz — who has now upheld the promise he made to us on Mother’s Day to mark up KOSA — and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell for moving this critical legislation forward, and marking it up as standalone legislation not packaged with other bills. Protecting children’s lives should never be a political issue or bargaining chip to make deals on other bills. 

But even though we are pleased to see movement on KOSA, markup is just one step. We are urging the Senate Commerce Committee to pass KOSA as written, without amendments, and our leaders in both chambers to make this bill law this year so no more young lives are lost to online harms.” ▪