Warner, Husted, Britt Lead Bipartisan Bill to Protect Children on Social Media

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Jon Husted (R-OH), and Katie Britt (R-AL) today introduced a bipartisan bill to empower parents to protect their children on social media platforms by providing them with more tools to know if their children are engaging in dangerous or risky interactions.

Sammy's Law would require large social media platforms to permit parents to receive safety notifications through FTC-regulated third-party safety providers, giving them the tools to shield their children from harm.

"Parents are struggling to protect their kids from the harmful effects of social media, where children are more exposed than ever to cyberbullying, eating disorders, and other online threats to their wellbeing," said Sen. Warner. "Sammy's Law will give parents the choice to be alerted of concerning behaviors on social media, while protecting their personal information. I'm proud to join this bipartisan effort so parents have more resources to supervise their children's social media use."

"In Ohio and across the country, criminals are using social media to target our children-selling them dangerous drugs and exploiting them through sextortion while trying to bypass parents and other trusted adults," said Sen. Husted. "Tragically, teenagers Sammy Chapman from California and James Wood from Ohio are two of many young people who've fallen victim to these predators. Parents deserve to know what their kids are exposed to online and have the ability to protect them and save lives. Sammy's Law would put that authority back where it belongs-with families-and gives parents the tools they need to keep their children safe."

"At just 16 years old, Sammy Chapman had his whole life ahead of him when he was approached by a drug dealer on social media who sold him drugs laced with fentanyl-an event which tragically led to his death," said Sen. Britt. "Had legislation been in place like Sammy's Law, which prevents social media companies from blocking third-party safety software for children, Sammy would likely still be with us today. As parents and legislators, it's our job to protect our children and teens-our most vulnerable-in every way we can. In the age of social media and the challenges that come with it, Sammy's Law is a critical step towards protecting our children online by ensuring parents have access to the necessary tools to keep their children safe."

Sammy's Law was named after 16-year-old Sammy Chapman who lost his life to fentanyl poisoning. He was approached by a drug dealer through social media, who delivered drugs laced with a lethal dose of opioid fentanyl to his home. Sammy was unaware he was ingesting fentanyl and tragically lost his life. Sammy's Law was introduced to give parents the tools to protect their children and other family members by:

• Requiring large social media platforms with either 100 million monthly active users or garner $1 billion in gross revenue per year to make real-time application programming interfaces accessible to Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-registered third-party safety software providers.

• Alerting parents when 15 specific instances or phrases arise that indicate eating disorders, suicidal ideation, and sexual harassment.

Alexander Neville Foundation, Becca Schmill Foundation, Buckets Over Bullying, CADCA, Crime Victims United, Crimestoppers of Houston, D.A.R.E. America, Families Against Fentanyl, JED Foundation, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, National Crime Prevention Council, Organization for Social Media Safety, Parent ProTech, Parents Television and Media Council, Protect Young Eyes, Safe House, SafeProject, Social Media Victims Law Center, Stand for the Silent, The Village Mission and VOID all endorse Sammy's Law.

Reps. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL) and Buddy Carter (R-GA) introduced the companion bill to Sammy's Law in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"There are sick, evil people who prey on our children from the shadows of social media, selling illicit, even fentanyl-laced, drugs," said Rep. Carter. Tragically, Sammy Chapman was one of those kids who died at just 16 years old, with his entire life ahead of him. Parents have the right to know when their child is engaging in dangerous online activity, and this bill will equip them with the best possible technology to protect and keep their children safe from bad actors. I thank Senator Husted for his support in this effort."

"The Senate introduction of Sammy's Law is a major step toward protecting children on social media," said Marc Berkman, CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety. "Through our work with families and schools nationwide, we have seen that third-party safety software saves young lives. This legislation will help protect children from severe social media-related harms like cyberbullying, sextortion, and drug trafficking while also strengthening privacy protections. We thank Senators Husted and Warner for their bipartisan leadership in advancing this critical, life-saving bill."

Sen. Warner has long championed protecting children on social media. He introduced Kids Off Social Media Act, legislation that would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media platforms and prevent social media companies from feeding algorithmically-targeted content to users under the age of 17. Sen. Warner sponsored the Kids Online Safety Act, which requires social media platforms to, by default, enable a range of protections against addictive design and algorithmic recommendations, privacy protections, dedicated channels to report harm, and independent audits by experts and academic researchers to ensure that social media platforms are taking meaningful steps to address risks to kids. He also introduced the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act, legislation that would encourage market-based competition with major social media platforms by requiring the largest companies make user data portable - and their services interoperable - with other platforms, and to allow users to designate a trusted third-party service to manage their privacy and account settings.

Read the bill text here.

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