July, 27 2022, 02:01pm EDT
Statement of Advocates Fairplay, American Academy of Pediatrics, Center for Digital Democracy, and Eating Disorders Coalition on the Advancement of the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act
Today, the Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act to a full floor vote.
Please see below for statements from representatives of organizations supporting these bills.
WASHINGTON
Today, the Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act to a full floor vote.
Please see below for statements from representatives of organizations supporting these bills.
"This is an important step toward creating a safer and less exploitative internet for children and teens. Taken together, KOSA and COPPA will provide critical privacy protections for children and teens, limit surveillance advertising, and require platforms to prioritize young people's best interests. We urge Congress to pass these bills into law - for far too long, Big Tech has been allowed to regulate itself at great expense to the health and wellbeing of young Americans." - Josh Golin, executive director, Fairplay
"Pediatricians have long understood both the harms and opportunities of digital media on children and teens' health and development. We need protections and policies in place to keep children safe online and create a healthy digital ecosystem that better supports their needs. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) applauds today's advancement of the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, two bills that together make meaningful strides toward this goal. The Academy thanks Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) for their leadership on these important bills, and we call on the Senate to quickly take up and pass the legislation without delay." - Moira Szilagyi, MD, PhD, FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics
"Senators from both sides of the aisle stood up today for America's children by supporting two historic bills that protect their privacy, safety and health. Now that the Senate Commerce Committee has passed the bipartisan "Children and Teens Online Protection Act" and the "Kids Online Safety Act" it is time for the full Senate to act. Without these much needed laws, kids will continue to be surveilled and manipulated by the largest social media and other digital platforms." - Jeff Chester, executive director, Center for Digital Democracy
"We are encouraged by the overwhelming show of support from the committee members for this vital legislation. The unanimous vote sends a strong signal to parents, kids and community advocates that their voices have been heard. We are hopeful that lawmakers are ready to do what's needed to protect young people from the unacceptable risks they face online every day in this country, but we know there is a long road ahead and we will keep fighting for common-sense oversight and protections on social media till the job is done." - S. Bryn Austin, ScD, Past President, Eating Disorders Coalition, and Director, Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders
Fairplay, formerly known as Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, educates the public about commercialism's impact on kids' wellbeing and advocates for the end of child-targeted marketing. Fairplay organizes parents to hold corporations accountable for their marketing practices, advocates for policies to protect kids, and works with parents and professionals to reduce children's screen time.
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"Working families simply can't afford to pay more money for worse care. We need to extend ACA tax credits to lower costs."
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With millions of Americans facing health insurance premium hikes and Affordable Care Act tax credits expiring at midnight, critics, including congressional Democrats, called out Republicans on Capitol Hill for kicking off 2026 with a nationwide healthcare crisis.
"When the clock strikes midnight, the fallout of the GOP's premium hikes will ripple throughout the nation," Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach said in a Wednesday statement. "This new year brings a healthcare catastrophe unlike anything this nation has ever seen. Hardworking Americans will be sent into crippling medical debt, emptying out their savings just to see a doctor. Others will be forced to live without the life-saving coverage they need. Untold tens of thousands will die from preventable causes."
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Republican lawmakers declined to extend ACA subsidies in their so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which is also expected to slash an estimated $1 trillion in Medicaid spending over the next decade, leading to health clinic closures, while giving more tax breaks to the ultrawealthy. Even the longest federal government shutdown in history—which a handful of moderate Senate Democrats ultimately ended without any real concessions—couldn't convince the GOP to extend the expiring tax credits.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has faced calls to step down over his handling of both shutdowns this year, stressed in a Wednesday statement that the healthcare crisis beginning Thursday "was entirely preventable—caused by Republican obstruction and total inaction."
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Specifically, about 22 million people who receive subsidies face higher premiums next year, and experts warn nearly 5 million people could become uninsured if the tax credits aren't extended. That's on top of the at least 10 million people expected to lose Medicaid coverage over the next decade, thanks to the OBBBA that President Donald Trump signed into law this summer.
Noting that the expiring subsidies are set to leave millions of Americans without health insurance, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) declared on social media Wednesday, "Republicans don't give a damn."
The Chicago Tribune on Wednesday shared the story of Eleanor Walsh, of St. John, Indiana. She and her husband, who are both self-employed, paid around $9,100 for health insurance this year. In 2026, it will increase to $23,400. To save money, they are going with another plan, which has a $10,130 deductible for each of them, she told the newspaper.
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Four Republicans in the House of Representatives have signed on to a discharge petition to force a January vote on Democratic legislation to extend the credits for three years. Roll Call reported Tuesday that "with the knowledge that a procedural vote on a similar bill was rejected in the Senate, a bipartisan group of senators is working on a compromise to extend the credits."
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Other lawmakers have kept up the battle for universal healthcare this week. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said Tuesday that "everyone in America—no matter what their ZIP code is—should have access to the quality healthcare they need, when they need it. That's why I'm fighting to put us on the path to Medicare for All."
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Absent any real progress on the ACA, let alone Medicare for All, in DC, "at least a dozen states are working to shield people from soaring health insurance costs following Congress' failure to extend Obamacare subsidies for tens of millions of Americans," Politico reported Monday.
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