Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have proposed a bill entitled the Kids Internet Design and Safety (KIDS) Act in an effort to “tackle the ‘non-transparent ways’ digital media properties ‘ensure children interact with content that reflects the interests and goals of the content creators, platforms, and marketers.’”
The bill addresses content targeting children under 16, including subject matter, visual content, animated characters, activities geared towards children and incentives, music and audio, the age of models, language, child celebrities or celebrities appealing to younger kids, and advertised content. The bill also discusses influencers, neuromarketing, and other initiatives, especially with artificial intelligence and machine learning used to increase engagement.
“Kids’ faces are increasingly covered in the glow of their screens, and it’s time to face the chilling reality that some websites and apps are built in ways that harm children,” Sen. Markey said. “As a society, we’re playing catch-up to the serious risks to kids online, and Congress has a responsibility to say loud and clear that Big Tech needs to get serious about the wellbeing of children and teens.”
Platforms that target said audience or that show specified content “would be prohibited from using tactics that promote prolonged engagement such as auto-play, push alerts, or displaying “‘the quantity of positive engagement or feedback that a covered user has received from other users,’” including likes on Facebook and Instagram and streaks on Snapchat. Platforms would not be allowed to “amplify, promote, or encourage” users under 16 to interact with “content promoting sexual material, gambling, or other vices generally reserved for the over-18 set.” The proposed bill notes that children are particularly susceptible to online manipulation and the bill seeks to protect children.
“Generations of kids are growing up in online spaces besieged by the crass commercialization of social media influencers, tobacco companies, fast food, and alcohol brands,” Sen. Blumenthal said. “The KIDS Act puts guardrails in place to rein in recklessness of marketers and Big Tech–protecting children and giving parents some peace of mind.”
The bill would prohibit entities that target users under 16 from having an auto-play setting without user input, push notifications that entice the user to go on the platform and spend more time on it, when they are currently not on the platform, any feature or setting that encourages said users to make a purchase, submit content or spend more time on the platform, and a feature that rewards users for using the platform for heavy engagement, such as badges. It would also ban platforms from being allowed to “amplify, promote, or encourage” covered users from interacting with “content promoting sexual material, gambling, or other vices generally reserved for the over-18 set.” The proposed bill notes that children are particularly susceptible to online manipulation and the bill seeks to protect children. It would also make it illegal for platforms to ask covered users to verify their identity. It will also enact a content labeling system and yearly platform audits. The bill finally proposes penalties for violations.
