[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5163-S5164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Kids Online Safety and Privacy

  Mr. President, I want to turn to another important topic.
  If you ask parents and grandparents, one of the greatest fears they 
have about their children is this cell phone. How do you know what 
those kids are doing on that cell phone? Hour after hour, we hope it is 
just conversation or games, something innocent; but we know it can be 
something much, much more.
  I want to congratulate Leader Schumer on his decision to introduce a 
kids' online safety package. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which I 
chair, has worked tirelessly throughout this Congress to address the 
danger Big Tech is posing to our children and grandchildren.
  In February of last year, the committee held a hearing on how to 
protect our kids online. We heard from a mother who lost her son after 
he was bullied online, a teen advocate who struggled with the impact of 
social media on her mental health, and many experts. In January, the 
committee held a historic hearing with the five Big Tech CEOs. The room 
was filled with survivors, parents, and family members whose lives have 
been impacted by Big Tech's failures. The emotion I felt during that 
hearing as I looked at their faces was unforgettable. Their grief was 
palpable, but so was their sense of purpose. They were there with a 
mission to confront the CEOs and demand that Congress finally enact 
legislation to make the online world safer for our kids and hold these 
tech companies accountable.
  The hearing demonstrated that kids' online safety has widespread, 
bipartisan support. Mr. President, you know this personally. No other 
topic has brought the Members of that committee together from across 
the political spectrum as powerfully as this one. We proposed five 
different measures to enforce the law against the Big Tech operations 
that pay no attention to what is happening with what they broadcast on 
their media, and the final vote in that committee, a committee which is 
as diverse as anything ever gathered in Congress, was unanimous--
Democrats and Republicans agreed. How about that, America? Can 
you believe it? On an issue that important, every single Senator of 
both political parties voted for the legislation. That is why I think 
we can get into an honest conversation about helping families fight 
this danger to their kids and grandkids. We need to move towards the 
provisions that we have enacted in the committee.

  Bipartisan support was further demonstrated when the committee 
unanimously reported all five bills, including my STOP CSAM Act that 
will finally hold Big Tech accountable.
  Here is what it boils down to: Bills that are coming to the floor 
from the Commerce Committee are good bills, but they turn to the 
Federal Trade Commission and other Agencies to enforce the law and 
police these Big Tech companies. That is not enough. I have talked to 
the heads of these Agencies. They are willing to take on this 
responsibility, but they need dramatic increases in resources and 
personnel to make it work.
  In the meantime, our approach is to hold the companies civilly 
responsible, with the possibility of lawsuits and litigation to enforce 
it. That will get their attention, and they will finally

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come to the protection of these families.
  The lack of accountability and consequences of their actions that Big 
Tech has enjoyed for decades has allowed the likes of Amazon, Meta, 
Snap, and other tech companies to ignore the risks their platforms pose 
to kids. KOSA and COPPA, as they are known, are positive steps toward 
changing this dynamic that I can support, but we need more. We have got 
to get serious. If we create civil liability for wrongdoing, there will 
be an enforcement mechanism powerful enough to deal with these 
companies.
  I will continue to advocate for a vote on my STOP CSAM Act and other 
measures that make the internet safer for our kids.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Texas.