FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 12, 2026

CONTACT:
Ashwin Verghese, [email protected], 508-263-0289

Cruz Promises KOSA Will Pass Committee, Become Law This Year

Today, the Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, Ted Cruz (R-TX), made a surprise appearance at a rally organized by parents who lost children to online harms and online safety advocates.

Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) also attended the Mother’s Day-themed rally on Capitol Hill to urge the Senate to pass, S.1748, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) this year. 

Senator Cruz made a commitment to getting KOSA signed into law by the end of the year at the event: “We passed KOSA in the last Congress out of the Senate, we’re going to pass it out of the Commerce Committee, we’re going to pass it in the Senate [again], and we are going to work hand-in-hand [with House leadership] to get it passed through the House and get it put on the President’s desk and get it signed into law this year.”

Watch the video clip of Cruz’s remark.

Senator Blackburn reintroduced the legislation in May 2025 alongside Senator Blumenthal after it passed the Senate in 2024 with a 91-3 vote. KOSA would require social media companies to ensure their platforms’ design does not cause or exacerbate serious harms to minors, including addiction, suicide, sexual exploitation, eating disorders and mental health harms. 

“The landmark social media verdicts in California and New Mexico have reminded our nation of one thing: Courts can punish past harms, but it is up to Congress to prevent future ones,” said Senator Blackburn. “Americans are not interested in toothless reforms, which is why we need to get the Senate version of KOSA to the President’s desk. It’s time for Congress to choose the American people over Big Tech’s bottom line.” 

Parent survivors came together to urge lawmakers to skip the chocolates and flowers this Mother’s Day and finally get KOSA across the finish line this year. Survivor parents continue to demonstrate the unwavering power of a mother’s love in their fight to save other children’s lives by tirelessly advocating for Congress to pass KOSA. The rally served as the week’s cornerstone event and called on the Senate to move KOSA forward without further delay. 

“Let me just say: thank you. I know being here causes many of you to relive a pain that is beyond words. I can only imagine, because I haven’t lived through it, what it would be like to lose your child,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal. “And you bring your stories here to relive that pain with such courage and grace that I am truly in awe. Your courage ought to inspire every single member of the United States Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act.”

The theme of Mother’s Day fueled a week of action driven by advocates for keeping our kids safe online. The week uplifted the voices of mothers who lost children to online harms. For them, this is deeply personal. It is about empty bedrooms, unanswered phone calls, birthdays that will never be celebrated, and the unbearable reality of parents outliving their children. 

The actress Eva Mendes supported today’s effort over the Mother’s Day weekend via her Instagram account, stating, “Out of the universal unconditional love a mother feels for her child-may we please stand in solidarity with these bereaved mothers and ask bipartisan lawmakers to: Protect our children. Please pass comprehensive legislation this year that will protect them from online harms.”

Cheryl Brown, mother of McKenna Brown, forever 17, founding member of ParentsSOS, emphasized the critical necessity of holding tech giants accountable for the intentional design of their products. “While we can never get back what was taken from our families, we can ensure no other mother has to face an empty chair at the dinner table this Mother’s Day because a social media platform prioritized engagement over a child’s life,” said Brown. “Passing KOSA isn’t just a policy goal; it’s a life-saving intervention that finally forces these companies to clean up the digital environment they’ve allowed to become toxic.”

Carrie Baeten, mother of Jack McDonough, forever 18, founding member of ParentsSOS, spoke to the profound personal weight of the holiday and the power of collective parent advocacy, “Flowers and cards are a kind gesture, but for those of us who have lost children to online harms, the only gift that matters is the safety of the children still here,” said Baeten. “We are standing on Capitol Hill today to tell the Senate that 76 cosponsors is a powerful start, but it’s not a finished job—our children deserve a vote and a law that protects their mental health and their lives.”

KOSA has strong bipartisan support and strong protections and has transcended party politics, underscoring the significance and power of this issue. The legislation currently has 76 cosponsors in the Senate. 

Along with the rally, there is an online “Mother’s Day card” urging the public to sign in support of the legislation, it currently has garnered nearly 2000 signatures in support of the legislation. 

Photos of the rally are here. A recording of the rally is here.

Rally Hosts included: 

Becca Schmill Foundation

David Legacy Foundation

Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action

Fairplay

Inseparable

Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation 

ParentsSOS

SAVE-Suicide Awareness Voices of Education

Event Sponsors included: 

Digital Childhood Alliance 

Digital Childhood Institute

Heat Initiative. 

Institute for Families and Technology

NCOSE

Parents RISE

Event endorsers included: 

Alexander Neville Foundation 

Buckets Over Bullying

Devin J. Norring Foundation

Emmy’s Champions

Erik’s Cause

Grace McComas Memorial 

Issue One

Kids at Risk

Lynn’s Warriors

Mason’s Message

Matthew E. Minor Awareness Foundation

Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA)

No App For Life 

No Traffiking Zone

Not On our Watch Texas

ParentsTogether Action

Social Media Harms

Talk More. Tech Less.

Tech Safe Learning Coalition

TexProtects

The McKenna Way

Unbound Now

Unite for Safe Social Media

Walker’s Mission

WithAll

Young People’s Alliance

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About Fairplay

Fairplay is the leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in an increasingly commercialized, screen-obsessed culture, and the only organization dedicated to ending marketing to children. Fairplay works to enhance children’s well-being by eliminating the exploitative and harmful business practices of marketers and Big Tech. Learn more at www.fairplayforkids.org.