Last week, the Senate helped American families protect their kids online
On July 1, with a 99-1 vote, Senators stripped the budget reconciliation bill of the AI moratorium it had originally included. That provision would have precluded states from creating and enforcing laws to rein in the serious harms caused by AI, including those that put children’s online safety at real risk.
We are profoundly grateful to Senators Marsha Blackburn (R – Tenn.), Susan Collins (R – Maine), Maria Cantwell (D – Wash.), and Ed Markey (D – Mass.) for their leadership in sponsoring the amendment to remove this reckless moratorium. Their efforts will ensure that — in the absence of any federal legislation doing so — states can still regulate this emerging technology in ways that will keep children and other consumers safe.
AI technologies are fascinating and, in many ways, an incredible tool for modern life. But they can also be dangerous, especially for children. AI companions that deepen children’s isolation or engage in inappropriate conversations with minors, feeds driven by algorithms that endorse violence or self-harm, and deep-fakes generated by AI systems that are used in sextortion schemes exploiting children are just a few of the ways this technology has caused young people significant harm. One Florida parent is suing an AI company over her son’s suicide, claiming the company, Character.AI, “trick[s] customers into handing over their most private thoughts and feelings,” according to a recent New York Times article. That same piece explained that some people also worry that teens in crisis will first look to AI companions for help instead of going to individuals who can provide real-time, and more effective, support, like therapists, parents or trusted adults.
In May of this year, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser even issued a consumer alert about the dangers of AI chatbots for children. He emphasized several risks, including that even seemingly harmless prompts during interactions with AI chatbots can turn inappropriate quickly; that engaging with these bots can be addictive; that they can give inaccurate and biased information; and that they create privacy concerns.
Yet, because the federal government has not passed any legislation in more than a quarter century to protect children online — from AI as well as social media platforms and more — it is left to individual states to do so. This state-level enforcement has therefore become an essential tool in the Herculean fight to keep children safe online.
We parents, who have all tragically lost a child to online harms, know far too well how essential state rights are in protecting our children from online harms. Because we’re not talking about kids just seeing something vaguely unpleasant on their screens. What we’re talking about is, in fact, a matter of life and death. And until Congress passes the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) — the only legislation that would require Big Tech to change the algorithms and designs of their products that purposefully addict children to their screens and too often send them down treacherous rabbit holes of toxic content — state laws are all we have.
Again, we cannot thank Senators Blackburn, Collins, Cantwell and Markey enough. They protected American families from a decade of unregulated AI and experimentation from Big Tech; they chose our children instead. We urge them now to continue their leadership by working to pass KOSA during this session and finally making children’s online safety a national priority.
