Attorney General John M. Formella announces that he is part of a bipartisan coalition of 45 attorneys general urging Congress to pass the United States Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), legislation aimed at strengthening protections for children and teenagers online.
The effort calls on Congress to establish stronger nationwide protections for young people who use social media and gaming platforms. In a letter to congressional leadership, Attorney General Formella and his colleagues expressed continued support for Senate Bill 1748, which would establish minimum safety standards for online platforms while preserving states’ authority to enact and enforce laws protecting children from online harms.
“Protecting children online cannot depend on which platform they happen to be using,” said Attorney General Formella. “We need meaningful, consistent safeguards that hold technology companies accountable for the products they create and the impact those products can have on young people. The Kids Online Safety Act would establish an important nationwide standard while preserving the ability of states to continue fighting for the safety of children and families.”
The renewed call for federal legislation follows the recently announced $17 billion multistate settlement with Meta, which requires the company to implement significant safeguards designed to protect users under 18 on Facebook and Instagram. These include daily time limits, restrictions on nighttime use, stronger protections against bullying, limits on certain potentially harmful content, and enhanced parental controls.
While the Meta settlement represents an important step toward holding technology companies accountable, the attorneys general emphasized that protections established through an agreement with one company cannot address the broader challenges facing children and families across the technology industry.
The attorneys general also highlighted the importance of KOSA’s Duty of Care provision, which would establish a lasting standard for social media and gaming platforms that extends beyond the terms of any individual settlement. The legislation would provide an ongoing framework that can adapt as technology and platform features evolve, while preserving states’ ability to develop and enforce additional protections against emerging online harms.
Since 2021, state attorneys general have investigated major social media platforms over concerns about addictive design features and their impacts on children’s mental health. Those investigations have led to lawsuits against Meta and other companies as attorneys general have sought to hold platforms accountable for practices alleged to harm young users.
Joining New Hampshire in this effort are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
