HARRISBURG – Attorney General Dave Sunday, along with a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, urged Congressional leadership to protect children from online harm by passing the Pa. Senate’s Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
The letter, signed by 40 attorneys general, was circulated to House and Senate leadership in advance of potential consideration of the House version of KOSA, H.R. 6484, which limits states’ authority to enact laws and regulations surrounding online safety.
Attorney General Sunday has been a national leader in protecting children online, while holding companies accountable for problematic social media platforms, artificial intelligence, and other technology that puts kids at risk.
The Office of Attorney General has filed charges against several offenders, under a new state statute that prohibits the use of artificial intelligence to generate child sexual abuse material. In addition, he led two bipartisan multistate letters to Google, Meta, and other companies regarding quality control over chatbot products and to xAI on recent features it added to its AI tool Grok which allowed for the creation of nonconsensual intimate images.
“I am personally aware of the very real dangers children face online every single day, and am proud to say the great work we have done at the state level has only just begun,” Attorney General Sunday said. “As a father, I understand why this issue matters so much to parents and families. It is well-documented — and known to social media companies — that extended use of social media is harmful. Parents deserve to know they have a strong advocate willing and able to act quickly as new threats emerge. Congress has an opportunity – and a responsibility – to put children first.”
In the letter, the attorneys general expressed support for the Senate version of KOSA, S. 1748, which also includes a key Duty of Care requirement while enhancing and preserving states’ authority to enforce and strengthen online protection for minors.
This push for federal legislation comes as many state attorneys general offices have launched investigations and lawsuits against major social media platforms like Meta and TikTok for their targeting of underage users. The attorneys general emphasized the urgency of Congressional action as scrutiny of social media companies intensifies and evidence mounts regarding the harmful impact of addictive design features on children and teens.
Attorney General Sunday is sending this letter to Congressional leadership alongside the Attorneys General of the sponsoring states of Connecticut, Hawaii, Ohio, and Tennessee, who are joined by American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, 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, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wyoming.
A copy of the letter is available HERE.
