WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is holding a hearing called, “Plugged Out: Examining the Impact of Technology on America’s Youth.” With companies consistently innovating to provide better safety and control tools for parents to win their trust and improve the online experience for kids, NetChoice encourages the committee to help educate parents on these features and updates and respect the role of parents—not the government—as the ultimate decision-makers for their families.
“The goal of keeping kids safe online is one we all share, and NetChoice applauds Senate Commerce for seriously reviewing this issue. There are many tools available to parents that companies provide and are creating every day to control their child’s online experience. We encourage the Committee to embrace NetChoice’s Digital Safety Shield for America and help parents learn about these control tools and resources,” said Amy Bos, NetChoice Vice President of Government Affairs.
“This includes developing educational campaigns, working with parent groups like PTA’s to ensure they are reaching families, and working with states to create a public-private partnership to ensure parental control tools are meeting their needs. These are meaningful and lawful solutions for policymakers to improve the digital experience for young Americans.”
Bos continued: “We also encourage lawmakers to reject proposals like KOSMA that will fail to improve online safety for everyone. By effectively requiring all Americans to hand over sensitive personal documentation to access the internet, KOSMA will create massive data ‘honeypots’ that will inevitably be targeted by hackers and cybercriminals. This proposal additionally strips away the fundamental rights of parents by allowing Washington to dictate what online tools their families can use rather than letting parents make those choices themselves. Congress should reject this overreach and instead focus on solutions that protect our children online without compromising their security or rights.”
Read NetChoice’s Statement for the Record to the Committee on the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA) here.
Learn more about NetChoice’s Digital Safety Shield for America here.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.
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