U.S. Senator Katie Britt participated in a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing discussing the STOP CSAM Act, which aims to crack down on child sexual abuse material online. Senator Britt highlighted the need for social media platforms to verify the ages of their users to protect children from exploitation. The rise in child sexual exploitation is linked to the increase of children using social media platforms, with up to 40% of children aged 8 to 12 using social media, making them vulnerable to predators.
During the hearing, Senator Britt emphasized the importance of enforcing age verification on social media apps and discussed the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, which requires social media companies to use advanced age verification technology. John Pizzuro, a witness at the hearing, suggested using device-based age verification as a solution to protect children. Senator Britt agreed that companies have the necessary data for age verification but are unwilling to implement it.
Senator Britt introduced the Kids Off Social Media Act to set a minimum age of 13 for social media platform use to prevent algorithmically-targeted content aimed at users under 17. The legislation passed the Senate Commerce Committee and is now being considered by the full Senate. Senator Britt’s efforts to protect children online were praised during the hearing, and she reiterated the importance of taking action to safeguard children from online exploitation.
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