Fort Smith, ARK – Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is calling on Congress to pass the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a piece of legislation designed to protect children from the harmful effects of social media and online platforms. In a letter sent Monday to key congressional leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sanders emphasized the urgent need for action to address the rising mental health crisis among young people.
As both a governor and a mother of three, Sanders expressed firsthand concern over the impact that unregulated social media use is having on children. “I have seen firsthand the alarming rise in mental illness among my kids’ generation,” Sanders wrote. “As a mother, I understand the unique pressures facing our youth today, and it is time for lawmakers to take action to protect them.”
The Governor pointed to the growing body of evidence suggesting that social media platforms, fueled by their powerful algorithms, are contributing to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and even self-harm among minors. “Big Tech companies know their algorithms are harming kids,” Sanders noted. “They have been given chance after chance to fix the problem themselves; now, it is time for lawmakers to take action.”
Sanders’ letter comes as public concern over the negative effects of social media on young people continues to intensify. She criticized major tech companies for spending millions of dollars lobbying against regulations aimed at safeguarding children online, and for their legal challenges against states like Arkansas that have attempted to enact protective measures.
“The last time Congress passed a law to protect children on the internet was in 1998 — before Facebook, before the iPhone and long before today’s oldest teenagers were born,” Sanders pointed out, underscoring the need for updated legislation to address the realities of today’s digital landscape.
The proposed Kids Online Safety Act would require tech companies to take reasonable steps to mitigate harms to children on platforms that minors are likely to use. This includes preventing online bullying, violence, and the promotion of harmful behaviors such as suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, and sexual exploitation. It would also mandate that platforms block advertisements for illegal products like narcotics, tobacco, or alcohol aimed at young users.
Governor Sanders described unrestricted social media access for children as an “unmitigated disaster,” stressing that the current environment has proven harmful to their well-being. “America experimented with unrestricted social media use for our kids and the results of that experiment are clear: it is an unmitigated disaster,” she wrote. “We need to reverse these alarming trends and protect kids online.”
The Governor is urging Congress to act quickly and pass KOSA before the end of the year to ensure the safety of children and teens who are increasingly exposed to the dangers of the digital world.
The Kids Online Safety Act, if enacted, would mark a significant step toward curbing the negative effects of social media and online platforms on youth, giving parents, lawmakers, and advocates more tools to protect children in the digital age.