ATLANTA, GA – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in supporting the U.S. Senate’s version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), S. 1748. This legislation includes a key Duty of Care provision requiring online platforms to act in the best interests of minors while preserving states’ authority to enforce stronger protections for children and teens.

In a letter sent to Congressional leaders, the coalition also warns against passage of the U.S. House’s version of the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act), H.R. 7757, arguing the bill would weaken states’ ability to protect children online while insulating Big Tech from accountability. 

This follows recent action from attorneys general across the country to investigate and address allegations that some social media platforms target and harm underage users. Carr just recently launched his own investigation into Roblox and convicted a 26-year-old male of trafficking a teenage girl after initiating contact with the victim on Snapchat.

“For years, state attorneys general have been on the frontlines fighting to protect our kids from online dangers and addictive social media platforms,” said Carr. “We should be working with our federal partners to strengthen those efforts – not passing legislation that shields Big Tech from accountability. Our top priority is protecting Georgia’s children, and we will continue to support commonsense measures that do just that.”

As noted in the coalition’s letter, the House’s KIDS Act would preempt state laws addressing online harms to minors, including social media harms, obscenity, social gaming platforms, and artificial intelligence chatbots. For this reason, the attorneys general are opposed to the House’s bill and instead encouraging leaders to advance legislation that includes a meaningful Duty of Care requirement for online platforms, like S. 1748.

This letter was led by Tennessee, Connecticut, Hawaii and Ohio, and joined by Carr and the following attorneys general: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Find a copy of the letter here  (PDF, 740.88 KB) .