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On February 11, 2026, a bipartisan coalition of 40 state attorneys general sent a letter to Congressional leadership expressing support for the Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), S. 1748.
In their letter, the AGs highlight growing concerns about the impact of social media on youth mental health and emphasize that many platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive, particularly for minors. They also point to investigations and lawsuits initiated by multiple states against platforms such as TikTok, citing failure to disclose harms and continued exploitation of minors through targeted advertising.
The AGs also express their opposition to the House counterpart of KOSA, H.R. 6484, due to its expansive preemption clause, which the AGs assert would undercut existing state law addressing these topics and "expressly limit the states' ability to address evolving online harms in the future."
Additionally, the letter takes issue with H.R. 6484's absence of a meaningful duty-of-care standard. Instead, according to the letter, H.R. 6484 "merely requires" that companies have "reasonable policies, practices, and procedures" that address a "limited" list of harms. The states contend that this "will not deliver meaningful change" because many of these companies already maintain policies about the same limited list of harms, yet minors continue to be injured.
The letter concludes by urging the House to align with S. 1748 by (1) preserving states' authority to enact laws, rules, or regulations that provide greater protection for minors, (2) including a broader duty of care requirement, and (3) expanding the list of enumerated harms to include "suicide, eating disorders, compulsive use, other mental health harms, and financial harms."
This is not the first time states have engaged Congress on KOSA. In November 2024, a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general wrote to Congress supporting an earlier iteration of the bill and emphasizing the importance of avoiding an overly broad preemption clause. This ongoing dialogue reflects the AGs' consistent priority: ensuring that existing state protections for children remain enforceable while advocating for federal legislation that is both meaningful and complementary to state authority.
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