Child Online Safety Bill Scales Senate Hurdle, but Fate Remains Uncertain
Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal discussing the legislation last week at a news conference. Among other provisions, it would require tech service providers to turn on the highest privacy and safety settings by default for users under 17. Photo by Eric Lee / The New York Times
The New York Times
The Senate last week advanced sweeping legislation aimed at protecting children and teens online, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan test vote that put it on track for passage as soon as this week.
But the fate of the package remains uncertain in the House, where free speech concerns and a fierce lobbying effort by the technology industry are threatening to complicate its path to enactment.
The vote was 86 to 1 to take up the measure, which is the product of years of work by lawmakers and parents to overhaul digital privacy and safety laws as social networking sites, digital gaming and other online platforms increasingly dominate children’s and teens’ lives. The driving force behind the legislation was a group of dozens of grieving parents, some of whose children took their own lives after they had been subjected to online bullying and harassment.
“Finalizing these safety bills has been a long and winding and difficult road, but one thing I’ve known from the start: It sure would be worth it,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said in a floor speech before the vote. “The message from these parents has been simple and consistent: It’s been long enough.”
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