If the child safety bill becomes law, companies would be required to mitigate harm to children, including bullying and violence, the promotion of suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation and advertisements for illegal products such as narcotics, tobacco or alcohol. — Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash
WASHINGTON: The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday (July 30) that is designed to protect children from dangerous online content, pushing forward with what would be the first major effort by Congress in decades to hold tech companies more accountable for the harm that they cause.
The bill, which passed 91-3, has been pushed by parents of children who died by suicide after online bullying or have otherwise been harmed by online content. It would force companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm on online platforms frequently used by minors, requiring them to exercise "duty of care” and ensure that they generally default to the safest settings possible.
