FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 29, 2026

Contact: Ashwin Verghese, Communications Director, [email protected], 508-263-0289

KIDS Act Statement: Fairplay Supports ParentsSOS Members

Fairplay, the nation’s leading nonprofit fighting to protect kids from the dangers of Big Tech and AI, supports the new statement from ParentsSOS members on the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act (H.R. 7757). Their full statement is copied below. 

Not only is ParentsSOS made up of moms and dads who have suffered the worst loss imaginable — the death of their children due to online harms — but these parents have been working harder than anyone to pass the Kids Online Safety Act with a strong duty of care. 

Thanks to the tireless efforts of ParentsSOS — which Fairplay co-founded with survivor parents — the KIDS Act has been significantly strengthened over the past few days. Now, there is a bipartisan, bicameral consensus that Congress’s online safety legislation should not preempt state law in any way. That is a huge point of consensus that would not have been possible without the advocacy of ParentsSOS. 

Fairplay believes the ParentsSOS members’ position on the KIDS Act should take precedence, both because these parents know better than anyone the cost of failing to protect kids online, and because they have been doing the hard work on the ground over the past several years of trying to pass legislation that will stop other families from experiencing their same loss. 

We look forward to working with parents and lawmakers in both chambers to ensure that a strong version of KOSA with a duty of care passes this year. 

Please read the ParentsSOS members’s statement below:

Re: The Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act (H.R. 7757).

The following statement is issued on behalf of the undersigned members of ParentsSOS.

We are grateful for the work of Chair Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone on the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act (H.R. 7757), especially the portions related to the Kids Online Safety Act and Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act. This bipartisan package contains meaningful improvements that our members have advocated for, including provisions that protect states’ ability to issue stronger regulations and hold tech companies accountable for the presence of children and teens on their platforms.

The KIDS Act includes several important provisions that advance protections for children and teens online, particularly through Title II(A) and Title IV(A), by:

• Providing parents and young users with default protections, including safeguards against features that drive compulsive use, geolocation sharing, and contact from unknown adults.

• Banning targeted advertising to all minors.

• Creating a federal floor that protects states’ ability to pass stronger laws.

• Imposing a knowledge standard that prevents tech companies from pretending they do not know preteens are on their platforms.

As parents who have experienced the very worst as the result of Big Tech’s negligence, we still believe strongly that Congress must enact — and tech companies must face — a duty of care that requires them to design their platforms to prevent and mitigate harm. 

This bipartisan KIDS Act agreement is an important step toward meaningfully protecting children and teens online, so that no family has to face what we have. We look forward to working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the House and the Senate to pass the strongest possible online protections, including a duty of care, for young people this year.

Sincerely,

Todd Minor, Parent of Matthew, Forever 12

Mia Minor, Parent of Matthew, Forever 12

Matt Molak, Parent of David, Forever 16

Maurine Molak, Parent of David, Forever 16

Brian Montgomery, Parent of Walker, Forever 16

Matt Riviere, Parent of Stephen and Andrew, Forever 19 & 21

Michelle Servi, Parent of Jack, Forever 16

Deb Schmill, Parent of Becca, Forever 18

Jeff Van Lith, Parent of Ethan, Forever 13 

Cathy Van Lith, Parent of Ethan, Forever 13

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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.