Earlier this month, I joined my Senate colleagues in a tradition that has marked the beginning of each new congressional term since our nation’s founding: reciting the oath of office.
In many ways, the swearing-in represents a new start and a moment to think about everything the new Congress can accomplish—especially with a Republican majority in both chambers and President Trump returning to the White House.
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Detransition activist Elle Palmer, a biological woman who identified as a transgender man through most of her teens, told The Tennessee Star she was optimistic legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), proposed by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), would “inspire parents” to keep a closer watch on their children’s use of the internet.
Palmer, who recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to support Tennessee’s law banning transgender treatments for minors, told The Star last week that she became enraptured with online discussions related to feminism, gender theory, and ultimately transgenderism during her teen years, when she described herself as anxious and inverted.
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Between the presidential election, foreign conflicts across the globe, and major pocketbook issues like inflation and healthcare prices, it is safe to say that Washington, D.C. and the rest of the country have a lot to keep up with these days. Unfortunately, that means that a horribly flawed piece of legislation that will impact how all Americans interact with the internet is making its way through Congress with little attention from anyone but political insiders.
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Donald Trump Jr. has called on House Republicans to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), sponsored by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), after the bill was recently revised in coordination with X. Corp.
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A new version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), created by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), was announced on Saturday by Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, who said she collaborated with the senators to create legislation that would prioritize youth safety while preserving the First Amendment.
Revealing the new legislation in a post to X, Yaccarino noted the company, which was formerly known as Twitter, vowed it would help Congress establish new laws to protect children during a January appearance in Congress alongside Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Chew.
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Federal legislation designed to curb harmful online content exposure for minors is facing mounting criticism from conservatives for empowering government bureaucrats to infringe on free speech. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), introduced in 2022, aims to impose sweeping responsibilities on digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and X when it comes to content minor children can consume. The bill, which passed the U.S. Senate in July, has faced significant opposition in the House, where Republicans have expressed concerns over its constitutionality regarding free speech, and its potential to expand the power of the federal government. Supporters of KOSA argue that the bill is crucial for protecting children from online dangers such as explicit content and harmful influences. However, critics such as House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Speaker Mike Johnson, argue that the bill’s vague language could lead to significant overreach by the federal government, infringing on Americans’ First Amendment rights and personal control over their children’s online access. One of the primary criticisms of KOSA is that it imposes broad restrictions on speech. While intended to protect minors, the bill’s vague language could lead to censorship of a wide range of online content. The bill’s provisions require platforms…
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As a parent and an active advocate for children’s health and public education in Tennessee, I’m deeply invested in the wellbeing of our kids online. But even as Congress deliberates on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), I am concerned that this bill misses the mark on protecting children while putting our constitutional freedoms at risk.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a bipartisan coalition of 31 state attorneys general in sending a letter to Congressional leadership on Monday urging the passage of U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) before the end of the year.
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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) released a memo this week clarifying elements of her and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) Kids Online Safety Act, which passed the Senate in July, amid what the senator is calling “lies” being circulated about the legislation.
The Kids Online Safety Act seeks to “protect minors from online harms” by requiring social media companies to “take reasonable measures” to “prevent and mitigate” children from being harmed while using their platforms, including through sexual exploitation or online bullying.
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After the resounding success of Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, she has exclusively released to The Tennessee Star a guide for parents to keep their children safe online as they head back to school.
“When children are online, they are the product, and Big Tech is trying every method possible to keep them scrolling, clicking ads, and sharing every detail of their lives,” the guide says. “Social media platforms put children at risk of being exposed to eating disorders, suicidal ideation, sexual exploitation, and advertisements for illegal substances. Now is the perfect time to study up on how you can keep your kids safe online.”
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Since 1998 — the last year Congress passed a major law to reform the tech industry and protect children in the virtual space — a lot has changed.
In the last 26 years, more than 100 million Americans were born during the internet’s profound transformation from dial-up to near constant connectivity, especially with the emergence of the biggest social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and more.
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Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) detailed her work in the U.S. Senate this week during an exclusive interview on Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
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Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) celebrated on Tuesday after the U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act with bipartisan support.
Blackburn wrote in a post to the social media platform X that the legislation passing the Senate is “a big step to protect” minor children from online harms, and noted Congress last passed legislation with that goal in 1998, when it passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
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A bipartisan child online safety bills passed on Tuesday in the Senate 91-3.
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A revolution is underway. Parents, physicians, and principals have seen the devastation inflicted on an entire generation of children raised on screens, and they are taking bold steps to end “phone-based childhood.” Politicians are joining the cause, too, with Congress on the brink of passing bi-partisan legislation to protect kids online – the first significant law of its kind in nearly 30 years. The catalyst for this revolution is Jonathan Haidt’s new bestselling book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.
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Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) Tuesday announced that a bipartisan bill she cosponsored with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called the “Kids Online Safety Act” is headed to the Senate floor for a vote.
“It’s official: the Kids Online Safety Act is getting a vote on the Senate Floor. This progress is a testament to the incredible work of parents and young people whose personal experiences are the heart of this bill,” Blackburn said in a press release. “They came to DC over and over again, told their stories to lawmakers, wrote letters, and never gave up on demanding change. We are grateful to be in this fight with such brave and tenacious friends and allies.”
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