TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general opposing proposed federal legislation they say would weaken states’ ability to protect children online and shield technology companies from accountability.
Davenport and attorneys general from 43 other states and jurisdictions voiced opposition to the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, known as the KIDS Act, in a letter sent to Congressional leaders.
According to the coalition, the legislation would limit states’ authority to address online harms affecting minors, including issues involving social media platforms, online obscenity, social gaming sites and artificial intelligence chatbots.
“It’s as simple as this: Technology companies shouldn’t be insulated from accountability when they put our kids in harm’s way and earn billions of dollars off of their data in the process. As a parent, I won’t allow that—and neither should Congress,” said Attorney General Davenport. “I am standing together with a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in opposing any effort by Congress to take away states’ rights to hold Big Tech accountable when they harm our kids.”
The coalition argued the House version of the bill would weaken child safety protections by restricting many age-verification requirements for online platforms, allowing certain research involving minors and creating what officials described as an enforcement loophole for AI chat functions.
Attorneys general supporting the letter urged Congress instead to advance legislation that includes stronger “duty-of-care” requirements for online companies.
Earlier this year, Davenport expressed support for the Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, which the coalition said would not interfere with states’ efforts to regulate online protections for children.
The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General has previously pursued enforcement actions against major technology companies, including Meta, TikTok and Discord, over allegations related to child safety and online harms.
Attorneys general from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, California, Tennessee, Ohio and dozens of other states joined the bipartisan coalition opposing the House bill.
