Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) is co-leading a bipartisan bill aimed at giving parents more tools to protect their children on social media.
Warner introduced “Sammy’s Law” today (Monday) alongside Sens. Jon Husted (R-OH) and Katie Britt (R-AL). The legislation would require large social media platforms — those with at least 100 million monthly active users or $1 billion in annual gross revenue — to work with independent safety software providers that can help families monitor children’s accounts, according to the bill text.
The bill is named after 16-year-old Sammy Chapman, who died after a drug dealer contacted him on social media and sold him drugs laced with fentanyl, according to a press release.
“Parents are struggling to protect their kids from the harmful effects of social media, where children are more exposed than ever to cyberbullying, eating disorders, and other online threats to their wellbeing,” Warner said. “Sammy’s Law will give parents the choice to be alerted of concerning behaviors on social media, while protecting their personal information.”
Under the bill, platforms would be required to open their systems to FTC-registered third-party safety providers, which a child or parent could then authorize to manage the child’s interactions, content and account settings. Those providers could also alert parents when they detect signs of specific harms, including eating disorders, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, sexual abuse, harassment and the sharing of personal information.
The third-party providers would be required to register with the FTC, undergo annual independent audits and delete user data within days of collection. They would be barred from selling any user data, and the FTC could suspend or permanently deregister providers that fail to comply.
Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Buddy Carter (R-GA).
Warner has pushed several legislative efforts targeting children’s safety online, including the Kids Off Social Media Act, which would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media, and the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require platforms to enable default protections against addictive design and algorithmic recommendations.
More than 20 organizations endorsed the bill, including Families Against Fentanyl, the JED Foundation, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and the Social Media Victims Law Center.
Virginia enacted new state laws regulating minors’ social media use last July. A law to set a one-hour daily social media limit for kids younger than 16 is being challenged in federal court.
