Protecting our Kids in a Digital World
Rep. Bruce Westerman (AR-04)
The internet and social media have become a modern-day Wild West. The increased use of AI and social media by bad actors with little regulation from the tech industry has led to severe impacts on our children’s safety and mental health.
Big Tech companies continuously refuse to take responsibility for the impact their content can have on kids and families. So now, Congress has an obligation to restore order and enact policies that put our kids’ safety first along with their digital well-being.
Last week, the Committee on Energy and Commerce held a markup to discuss the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, a bill that aims at protecting our kids and teens from the dangers of online usage, empowering parents, and holding Big Tech companies accountable.
The long-standing “honor system” adult websites have used is no longer feasible. We cannot be naïve to think that children will not be exposed to pornography and other graphic content at such young ages. In response to this epidemic we are watching unfold, KIDS requires all websites containing adult content to uphold the same levels of safety measures and restrictions that a brick-and-mortar store would use. That’s just plain common sense.
Newer online threats, like the misuse of AI, are also addressed in this bill – an issue that has already proven to create great risks and concerns in the online world regarding our children’s safety. From AI-generated photos to chatbots on social media, we are seeing an increased amount of deception online that feed dangerous narratives. We must think: if it’s becoming difficult for us as adults to discern what is real or fake online, how can we expect our children to have the ability to do the same?
The responsibility doesn’t rest solely on the shoulders of Congress or the government to ensure the safety of our children online. That’s why the KIDS Act also aims at empowering parents to get involved and learn how to better detect and respond to digital threats.
According to the National Library of Medicine, a Spanish study was conducted in 2016 of children ages 13 to 17. This study found that 60% of boys and 11% of girls use the internet for sexual activities. But surprisingly, it was found that 75% of parents believe their children have never been exposed to adult content like pornography.
So much of our children’s exposure to adult content online happens in the home. The internet isn’t even close to what it was like 20 years ago – even five years ago! That’s why parents must be informed and aware of the new challenges that are sure to continue developing online so they can make the best decisions regarding the well-being of their children and their families.
Serving the Fourth District in Congress, I’ve had the privilege of sitting with family members who have shared their own experiences with online safety. Oftentimes, these are not happy stories that are shared. They’re serious, sobering, and incredibly difficult to process.
Being told the story of a mother’s son who took his own life because of an AI chat box or content fed to him by a social media algorithm is a devasting story to hear. Learning about the use of AI-generated photos to produce inappropriate images of someone’s underage son or daughter is sickening. There are countless stories to be told, each more devastating than the last. But these stories are why it matters that Congress steps in to create guardrails around an industry whose sole motive is to keep kids – and adults – chronically online for profit.
It may come as a knee-jerk reaction to feel unease when seeing the words “Congress,” “guardrails,” or “restrictions” in the same sentence, but when it comes to an issue where our children’s lives are on the line, we cannot gamble with the hope that Big Tech will step up to do the right thing after years and years of opportunity to do so.
For years, I’ve been heavily supportive of legislation that prioritizes child safety online. This is exactly why I introduced my bill, the Focus on Learning Act, in 2024, to study the impact of cell phones in schools. This bill gets to the heart of the need to protect children from the unhealthy use of technology by conducting studies to provide up-to-date reports on the real-life implications of its use.
We have got to give our kids the best opportunity to succeed. These bills are excellent steps in the right direction, but there is still so much work to be done. House Republicans remain dedicated to protecting our kids, empowering families, and holding industries accountable that prey on their innocence.