Attorney General Bonta: Any Federal Legislation to Protect Kids Online Must Allow States to Continue Critical Work in This Space

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 40 attorneys general in sending a letter to Congress supporting the passage of the bipartisan U.S. Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), S. 1748 and urging policy makers to pass nationwide legislation that does not preempt California’s own robust laws to protect children online. The current U.S. Senate version of the bill would protect children from emerging technologies including some of the most dangerous features employed by social media companies. Currently, this bill also preserves states’ authority to enact laws and regulations that provide greater protections for children guaranteeing that it would not preempt any state laws with stronger protections, given the nation-leading legislation advanced by Attorney General Bonta to combat addictive social media algorithms in California.   

“A screen isn’t a shield — even online we must remain on guard. As a dad of three, I understand the harm that social media can inflict on children. And as Attorney General of California, I have seen first-hand how far these companies will dig in when being held accountable. We must proactively prioritize children’s safety and well-being,” said Attorney General Bonta. “California has led the effort to create a safe space for kids’ social media use, and we welcome federal legislation that would help ensure a guaranteed baseline of protection for American youth, while still enabling states like California to have strong safeguards in place. States must be able to protect their residents, and we must all do more to create a safer place for children to explore, play, and connect online.” 

The U.S. Senate version of KOSA is a bipartisan bill that aims to protect children from online harm by imposing a duty of care requirement on social media platforms and online services. It requires social media companies to prevent and mitigate harms to children under the age of 18, including sexual exploitation, bullying, and self-harm. S. 1748 comes at a particularly important time with the U.S. House of Representatives looking to consider a counterpart KOSA bill, H.R. 6484, that omits the duty of care provision found in the U.S. Senate version of the bill and preempts the laws of states doing critical work in this space. In lieu of the duty of care provision, the U.S. House version of KOSA merely requires that companies have “reasonable policies, practices, and procedures” that address a limited list of harms. States, like California, have pioneered laws that promote online safety for minors. H.R. 6484’s preemption language would imperil such laws and limit states’ ability to address evolving online harms in the future. Alternatively, the U.S. Senate version of KOSA includes non-preemption language and a duty of care provision that will allow state and federal authorities to collectively address the toll that social media can take on children’s mental health and well-being.

In the letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition assert that S. 1748:

• Preserves states’ authority to enact laws, rules, or regulations that provide greater protection for minors.  
• Includes a duty of care provision.
• Expands the enumerated harms to include suicide, eating disorders, compulsive use, other mental health harms, and financial harms. 

Background:

Excessive time spent online is associated with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, susceptibility to addiction, and interference with daily life — including learning. Every additional hour that young people spend online is associated with an increased severity in symptoms of depression. Increasing evidence shows that these companies are aware of the adverse mental health consequences imposed on underage users, yet they have chosen to dig in deeper and deploy practices that keep kids' eyes glued to screens.

California’s own investigations and lawsuits against Meta and TikTok have helped paint a full picture of the scope and intentionality of this public health crisis. California’s lawsuits against Meta and TikTok both claim that the social media giants designed their platforms to addict young people so they would spend longer on the platforms, to the detriment of their mental and physical health. For example, TikTok knew the harm that could come from young people using its platforms and designed the platform to include features that they knew were uniquely psychologically and physically harmful to young users to keep young people compulsively returning and staying longer. Both lawsuits are ongoing.

In 2024, California responded by enacting the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act (SB 976) to limit social media companies and other website operators from using addictive algorithmic feeds, notifications, and other addictive design features that coerce children and teens into spending long periods of time on their platform. The state law requires parental consent for these features, empowering families to create healthy boundaries around kids’ social media use. And last year, California enacted the Social Media Warning Law (AB 56), which requires social media companies to periodically display a warning label on their platforms when used by children and teens. While social media may have benefits for some young users, the warning label advises that social media is associated with significant mental health harms and has not been proven safe for young users. 

In sending this letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Connecticut, Hawai‘i, Ohio, Tennessee, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wyoming.