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Commentary: The Kids Online Safety Act Would Have Saved My Son's Life

Aug 2024 🇺🇸 San Antonio Express-News PAYWALLED — LINKED, NOT HOSTED

Suicide and self-harm are complex and never caused by one factor alone. Problematic screen use, cyberbullying, harmful content, and online exploitation may increase risk or intensify existing distress. If someone is in immediate danger or emotional crisis in the United States, call or text 988.

Outside the U.S.? Find your local helpline at findahelpline.com.

In this signed commentary for the San Antonio Express-News, Maurine Molak argues for House passage of the federal Kids Online Safety Act, writing in the wake of a 91-3 Senate vote in favor of the bill. Molak, whose son David died in 2016 after experiencing online harassment, contends the legislation would require platforms to build safer default settings for minors and would hold companies accountable for design choices she characterizes as prioritizing engagement over child safety. She directly addresses free-speech objections, arguing the bill as she describes it preserves minors' ability to deliberately seek out information while targeting platform design rather than content. TechKids Foundation cites this as Molak's own statement of her policy position, published in a regional paper of record rather than paraphrased by a reporter.

U.S. Senate vote: 91–3

Molak's commentary cites the Senate's 91-3 vote in favor of the Kids Online Safety Act as the immediate context for her call for House passage.

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CITATION

Molak, Maurine. "Commentary: The Kids Online Safety Act Would Have Saved My Son's Life." San Antonio Express-News, August 15, 2024. https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/kids-online-safety-act-david-molak-19657433.php

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