EXCLUSIVE: Leader Thune backs broader crackdown on Big Tech after landmark Meta child safety settlement
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is signaling that Republicans will continue pushing for stronger protections for children across major technology platforms following Meta’s landmark settlement over child safety.
Asked by the Washington Reporter whether the new restrictions Meta agreed to should also apply to platforms such as TikTok and Google-owned YouTube, and whether he would continue fighting for legislation protecting children online, Thune pointed to the need to hold Big Tech accountable and pass the Kids Online Safety Act.
“I have been a longtime advocate for holding Big Tech accountable for its manipulative algorithms,” Thune told the Washington Reporter. “Consumers deserve more transparency about how these platforms amplify and suppress content, which is why I’m proud to support the Kids Online Safety Act.”
“Senator Blackburn has done a tremendous amount of work to deliver a bill that takes real steps to empower families and mitigate the harm social media can do to children, and I’m grateful for her leadership on the issue,” Thune added.
Thune’s comments come after Meta reached a sweeping settlement with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general over allegations that Facebook and Instagram harmed young users. Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion over 10 years and implement significant new safeguards for teenagers. Meta did not admit wrongdoing.
The agreement includes a default two-hour daily limit across Facebook and Instagram, restrictions on access between midnight and 6 a.m., muted notifications during school hours, stronger parental controls and new age-assurance measures.
Meta has publicly called on TikTok and Google-owned YouTube to adopt similar protections.
Thune has previously pressed YouTube, TikTok, Snap and other major platforms over child safety and the algorithms used to determine what users see. He is also a co-sponsor of the Kids Online Safety Act, led by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.).
KOSA would impose new obligations on covered online platforms aimed at protecting minors and give parents additional tools to manage their children’s online activity.
Blackburn and Blumenthal said after the Meta settlement that protections for children should apply across the industry, calling for Congress to pass KOSA.
Meta has made a similar argument, saying child-safety measures will be less effective if teenagers restricted on one platform simply move to another. The company specifically urged TikTok and YouTube to adopt the new standards.
A Senate source told the Reporter, “KOSA is one of the only bills that might pass in the lame duck because there is widespread bipartisan support for getting this down. Especially as these big companies start to get monopolistic power over AI. If there’s a full Senate vote, it will pass 99-1.”
