Congressmen Brett Guthrie and Gus Bilirakis have announced a legislative hearing to address online safety for children and teens. The hearing, titled “Legislative Solutions to Protect Children and Teens Online,” is scheduled for December 2, 2025, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. It will focus on several bills aimed at enhancing online protections for minors.
“For too long, tech companies have failed to adequately protect children and teens from perils online,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Bilirakis. They emphasized the importance of enacting meaningful protections that can withstand the test of time.
The hearing will review various proposed bills, including the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 6291), Kids Online Safety Act, Reducing Exploitative Social Media Exposure for Teens (RESET) Act, Sammy’s Law (H.R. 2657), App Store Accountability Act (H.R. 3149), Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN) Act (H.R. 1623), Safe Social Media Act (H.R. 6290), Algorithmic Choice and Transparency Act (H.R. 6253), No Fentanyl on Social Media Act (H.R. 6259), Promoting a Safe Internet for Minors Act (H.R. 6289), Safeguarding Adolescents From Exploitative Bots Act, Kids Internet Safety Partnership Act, AI Warnings And Resources for Education (AWARE) Act (H.R. 5360), Safer Guarding of Adolescents from Malicious Interactions on Network Games (GAMING) Act (H.R. 6265), Assessing Safety Tools for Parents and Minors Act, Stop Profiling Youth and Kids Act (H.R. 6273), Safe Messaging for Kids Act (H.R. 6257), Don’t Sell Kids’ Data Act of 2025 (H.R. 6292), and Parents Over Platforms Act.
Marc Berkman, CEO of the Organization For Social Media Safety, testified before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade about the urgent need to address social media-related harm among children and adolescents—a concern he described as a public health crisis.
Berkman cited research indicating high rates of cyberbullying, self-harm exposure, disordered eating, sexting and sextortion, illicit drug access, online exploitation, and human trafficking among young users who spend significant time on social platforms.
He noted that major social media executives have acknowledged safety failures within their platforms but highlighted ongoing conflicts of interest where profit is prioritized over child protection.
Berkman expressed strong support for Sammy’s Law which aims to empower parents with third-party safety software capable of providing real-time alerts when harmful content is detected on a child’s account—alerts that have reportedly prevented suicides and other dangers.
Despite some platforms’ resistance to providing necessary API access for these tools to function effectively—such as Snapchat and TikTok—Berkman stressed that built-in parental controls are insufficient in addressing cross-platform threats.
He concluded by urging Congress to pass Sammy’s Law swiftly while reaffirming his organization’s commitment to supporting legislative efforts that safeguard children online.
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