The following statement can be attributed to Paul Lekas, Senior Vice President, Global Public Policy and Sara Kloek, Vice President, Education and Children’s Policy, Software & Information Industry Association.
Today’s release of the “Online Health and Safety for Children and Youth: Best Practices for Families and Guidance for Industry” serves as a compendium of the work done by the Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force to address concerns about the health and safety of kids and teens online. We welcome this new resource to the growing list of resources from governments, non-profits, industry, and others to help parents, caregivers, and industry protect children’s and teens’ experiences online.
The report calls for Congress to enact federal legislation to “protect youth health, safety, and privacy online.” We outlined a framework for that legislation in the SIIA Child and Teen Privacy and Safety Principles, released in March 2024. The Principles outline a robust agenda for policymakers to keep kids safe and connected while holding platforms accountable. The Principles were developed to avoid many of the constitutional concerns that are raised by current proposals. Additionally, we continue to be hopeful that a bipartisan comprehensive privacy law will pass Congress to protect the privacy of all Americans.
We are pleased to see the new resources for parents and caregivers from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). These, in addition to the resources developed by industry, will provide another tool in the toolbox for parents and caregivers. We encourage the Task Force to socialize this with parents, caregivers, medical professionals, school leaders, and others so that this resource effectively reaches the intended audience.
