Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, as a mom, a pediatrician, and a Member of Congress, I rise today to support the advancement of the KIDS Act to take some serious steps to protect our kids and their data online and hold Big Tech accountable.

The KIDS Act includes my bill, the Kids Online Safety Act, which will ensure that social media companies provide protections and guardrails for kids online and are held accountable for the many harms they are causing to our kids, from sleeplessness, to eating disorders, to self- harm, and even harm from others.

Social media companies have gone largely unregulated for decades, all while they have become an omnipresent and bigger and bigger part of everyday life, including for kids.

In my 20 years as a pediatrician, I have seen the rise of mental and behavioral health concerns for kids and teens coincide directly with the rise of screen time and social media.

It is long past time to hold Big Tech and social media accountable.

This package includes many useful tools for parents to keep their kids safe online, but parents can't do it alone. This package isn't perfect, and I wish to see even more come out of negotiations with the Senate. That is why I am continuing to call for a duty of care and language that goes further to hold social media companies accountable for the many harms that their platforms are causing, including serious mental health issues, like anxiety, depression, addiction, eating disorders, and suicidality.

But this package represents the first time in decades that we have had a chance in the House to take a step forward, to finally passing comprehensive legislation to protect our kids. I strongly urge my colleagues to support it today so we can make it even stronger.

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