Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) used a visit to Iowa last week to hear from parents worried about the risks AI chatbots and online platforms pose to children, even as child safety advocates in Washington, D.C., push the Senate to go further with online protections.
Appearing alongside U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Sen. Cruz highlighted his bipartisan Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), which would bar children under 13 from using social media, prohibit personalized algorithms for users under 17 and limit social media use in schools. Meanwhile, a coalition of child safety groups is urging the Senate to strengthen broader legislative efforts that seek to hold platforms accountable.
Ensuring parents are at the forefront of these conversations is an essential part of the process, Sen. Cruz expressed during the event.
“That’s one of the many reasons why I’m excited for Ashley to come join us, because I think bringing the perspective of a mom dealing with these challenges every day when you go home at night,” he said. “That’s real, and we need that kind of urgency to understand why we need to be doing what we do.”
The concerns raised by Iowa parents are also being echoed on Capitol Hill.
On Monday, a coalition of 60 child safety groups sent a letter to Sen. Cruz, who also serves as the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, urging him to revisit the House-passed Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act and reimplement a “duty of care” provision lawmakers removed.
“This approach would immunize platforms from accountability for the design choices, such as engagement-maximizing feeds, autoplay and algorithmic amplification, that drive documented harms to young people,” the coalition wrote.
The group is also asking the Senate not to preempt state artificial intelligence laws and instead to follow the House’s model, under which states could craft regulations stricter than the federal standard.
“Families who have lost children to online harms have spent years telling their stories to this Congress,” the group wrote. “And with each day Congress fails to act, more children are being harmed and are dying.”
