Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones joined numerous other attorneys general in opposition to a law he says weakens digital safety for children.
Jones is specifically calling out the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act. This act was introduced on March 3. This piece of legislation would embolden the federal government to make sweeping regulations in an effort to boost online safety for children, something Jones says would override existing safeguards at the state level.
“The KIDS Act is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, claiming to protect young Virginians online when in reality this bill will put children’s social media health in the hands of the companies that are currently attempting to skirt existing state law through their platforms,” said Attorney General Jay Jones. “This bill is an attempt to step over the authority of both parents and guardians as well as the states’ enforcement powers. Virginia’s children deserve to be protected from unscrupulous Big Tech companies, and this office will use every legal tool available to fight for them.”
The KIDS Act includes multiple sections aimed at protecting children online across different platforms. One section would require age-verification systems to be put in place for websites where over a third of the content is considered sexually explicit. Another section would prohibit disappearing-message features for minors while outright banning direct message features for children under 13.
In a statement sent to News 3, Jones affirmed his support for regulating children's access to online platforms. He said the KIDS Act will eliminate age verification standards while introducing loopholes regarding AI chatbots.
Attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, North Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming signed the letter in opposition to the KIDS Act.
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