Parents push for kids’ online safety bill markup, vote after it stalls in House

Parents whose children have died or been seriously harmed as a result of social media are pushing for the House to mark up and vote on stalled legislation intended to increase kids’ safety and privacy online as momentum stalls in the lower chamber. 

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) passed the Senate in a 91-3 vote in late July as part of a package that also included the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Action Act, referred to as COPPA 2.0. 

Despite receiving wide support in the upper chamber, the legislation hit a snag in the House amid resistance from leadership.

The parents, who gathered outside the Capitol on Thursday morning, are urging the House Energy and Commerce Committee to mark up the legislation before lawmakers leave Washington for a preelection recess and to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote by the end of the year. 

“We are parents, and we are passionate about what we’re doing,” said Todd Minor, who held a photo of his 12-year-old son Matthew. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to keep coming. We’re going to keep shaking hands and talking to whoever we need to ensure that KOSA is passed.” 

Todd and Mia Minor lost their son in 2019 to the blackout challenge, an internet challenge that encouraged people to record videos asphyxiating themselves, sometimes to the point of losing consciousness. 

The Minors and other parents have met with nearly two dozen lawmakers in recent days, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), to push for movement on KOSA, according to Shelby Knox, director of online safety campaigns at advocacy group ParentsTogether.

The parents, led by ParentsTogether, gathered Thursday with stacks of boxes containing parent messages about online safety and a petition in support of KOSA signed by more than 100,000 parents, which were set to be hand-delivered to members of House leadership and the Energy and Commerce Committee. 

“This is an election year, and parents are going to be voting for people who are going to represent them,” said Tracy Kemp, whose 14-year-old son Brayden was cyberbullied over his race on Instagram and Snapchat. 

“I know that I want someone to represent me that cares about my kids and cares about my causes,” Kemp added. “So, I hope that they understand that this is a very serious issue and that we’re not here to do a publicity stunt. We’re here because we’ve lived through it.”