American families continue to tear apart as social media platforms become a breeding ground for the sexual exploitation of minors. Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) CEO and President Penny Nance is proud to stand with the parents affected (some who’ve lost their child due to failures in this area) in a letter to leadership in the U.S. House of Representative urging them to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports that children in the U.S. aged 8-12 spend 4-6 hours a day on screens. Teenaged users logged upwards of 9 hours per day. A large sum of this time is outside parental oversight with studies showing 97% of students use phones during the school day, and 60% use them between the hours of 12:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report last year that confirmed “there are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.” The risks included content exposure linked to suicide and self-harm.
Brandon Guffey knows this reality far too well. The South Carolina State House member relentlessly fights for the protection of children online after losing his own son, Gavin Guffey, to suicide. Gavin was sexually exploited via Instagram at 17-years-old.
As heartbreaking as Rep. Guffey’s story is, his family is not alone in their sorrow. Sexual exploitation through social media has plagued the nation, and due to the lack of social media safeguards, parents are defenseless to these attacks on their children’s innocence and safety. It’s nearly impossible for them to know the depths of their child’s internet access, especially while at school. The FBI warns attacks like those made on the Guffey family are “increasingly targeting underage boys and leading to an alarming increase in suicides nationwide.”
These devastating stories highlight the failure of social media companies to ensure proper safeguards for young users. These companies should have “duty to care” that requires reasonable steps to prevent harm. And that’s exactly what KOSA would establish.
KOSA moved through the Senate with strong bipartisan support on a 91-3 vote. Several of President-elect Trump’s closest allies have also publicly supported the bill. Donald Trump Jr. shared on X, “It’s time for House Republicans to pass the Kids Online Safety Act ASAP.” Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform “X” and free speech advocate similarly notes, “Protecting kids should always be priority #1.”
Despite this widespread support, the House of Representatives has yet to vote on the bill. If they fail to pass the protections in the remaining two weeks of session, both the House and Senate will need to reintroduce KOSA and begin the process again in the 119th Congress.
The CWALAC-backed letter to Speaker Johnson, Leader Scalise, and Chairwoman McMorris Rodgers urges the House to pass KOSA this year. The letter requested the leaders to “please prioritize KOSA in its strongest form possible. Simply put, more youth will be endangered, unnecessarily, if the bill is put off to next year.” Heritage Action for America, American Principles Project, The Institute for Family Studies, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, and others also joined the letter.
Parents carried a similar plea as they filled the halls of Congress this week urging KOSA’s final passage. Many of them mourn the loss of their own children due to online sexual exploitation. They placed pictures of their children on a display of Christmas presents alongside a banner that read “Hundreds of kids won’t be unwrapping holiday presents this year. KOSA would have protected them.”
With nearly a week and half left in the 118th Congress, CWALAC joins parents in urging the House of Representatives to protect children against sexual exploitation by taking the final step to pass KOSA.