In mid-2024, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), in a rare bipartisan vote of 91-3. The legislation was built around the idea that tech platforms bear a “duty of care” toward minors—requiring default privacy protections for children, disabling addictive design features, and giving parents new tools to protect their kids online.
But despite that strong Senate support, the bill stalled in the House and never became law. Lobbying from Big Tech, concerns about free speech, and other legislative priorities meant the momentum faded as the congressional term ended.
For many parents, this was gut-wrenching because we weren’t lobbying from theory — we were acting from experience. We saw children harmed, families shattered, and platforms built for engagement without regard for the consequences. We had trusted the assurances of tech companies that their products were safe. And we had done everything we could as parents: talked to our kids, used safety tools, set limits—yet still lost our most precious loves.
That’s why Parents RISE was founded. We recognized that passing a law is just one step. Real accountability means being present, organized, and powerful, and combining lived-experience, advocacy, and policy to make sure this issue never gets sidelined again.
We are survivor-parents turned advocates. We are turning grief into action. We’re demanding that children’s lives come before corporate profit, and we’re mobilizing now so that when the next opportunity comes — whether the revival of KOSA or another legislative vehicle — we’ll be ready.
Together, we will not let another chance slip away.