Attorney General John M. Formella announces that he along with a bipartisan coalition of 31 of his fellow state attorneys general are calling on Congressional leadership to pass the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (“KOSA”), crucial legislation that protects children from online harm, before the end of the year.

“The mental health challenges, bullying, and harmful content linked to social media have reached a crisis point, and it’s time for Congress to take action. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) provides a crucial framework to ensure social media platforms put the safety of children first,” said Attorney General Formella. “By strengthening safety features, giving parents more control, and addressing harmful design practices that foster addiction, we can begin to reverse the damage affecting America’s youth. I am proud to join my colleagues from across the country in urging Congress to pass this important and bipartisan legislation without delay.”

In a letter, the coalition emphasized the urgent need to address the growing crisis of youth mental health linked to social media use, with studies showing minors spend more than five hours daily online.

The attorneys general highlighted several key provisions of KOSA that would enhance online protections for minors:

• Mandatory default safety settings: Requiring platforms to automatically enable their strongest safety protections for minors rather than burying these features behind opt-in screens;
• Addiction prevention: Allowing young users and their parents to disable manipulative design features and algorithmic recommendations that keep children endlessly scrolling;
• Parental empowerment: Providing parents with new tools to identify harmful behaviors and improved capabilities to report dangerous content.

This push for federal legislation comes as many state attorneys general offices launched investigations and lawsuits against major social media platforms like Meta and TikTok for their targeting of underage users.