Design It For Us Calls for Full Senate Vote on Kids’ Online Safety Bills

Today, after the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation’s unanimous and bipartisan vote to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), youth-led coalition Design It For Us issued the following statement:

“Today’s vote signals broad bipartisan support for protecting the online safety and privacy of young people, and we look forward to Senator Schumer’s leadership to bring up both KOSA and COPPA 2.0 for a full Senate vote after the August recess,” Design It For Us Co-Chair Zamaan Qureshi said. “Congress has no excuse to delay addressing the harms – exacerbated by decades worth of inaction – of online platforms to kids and teens.”

“This marks the success of Design It For Us’s advocacy last week, after dozens of meetings with Members of Congress and White House officials to urge immediate action on these bills,” said Design It For Us Co-Chair Emma Lembke. “We’re glad to hear President Biden declare his full support earlier this week and urge Senator Schumer, along with his Senate colleagues, to prioritize the passage of KOSA and COPPA.”

Last week, Design It For Us journeyed to Capitol Hill to meet with both Democratic and Republican Members of Congress and their staff (including the offices of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senator Ed Markey, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Representative Kathy Castor, Representative Jamaal Bowman and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers) to add pressure and build momentum toward a markup of KOSA and COPPA 2.0 in the Senate Commerce Committee. 

Design It For Us kicked off the week with a lawn sign action on the West Lawn of the Capitol Building, planting 100 signs to represent individuals across the United States who shared their experiences with the organization on the harms of social media and concluded the week with a meeting with White House Officials at the Gender Policy Council. The coalition represents a generation of young people whose experience growing up entirely online gives them a unique expertise, which they leverage as they join with legislators to collaborate on youth-facing policy priorities.  

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