By Courtney Rozen
WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) – U.S. legislation that would require social media companies to take more responsibility for how their apps affect children and teens overcame a key hurdle on Tuesday, when a leading Republican senator said he would back the bill.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said at an event in Washington on Tuesday that he will back the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require social media companies to “exercise reasonable care” when designing features that contribute to harms to minors, according to the legislation. The list of harms includes eating disorders, depression and sexual harassment of minors, among others.Â
Cruz’s support is significant because he chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, the panel typically responsible for vetting and approving the legislation before the rest of the chamber votes on it. Cruz supported similar legislation in the past, but so far had not arranged a formal committee vote on the bill during the 119th Congress, the legislature’s current session.
“We are going to pass it out of the Commerce Committee, we’re going to pass it in the Senate,” he said at an event outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday with parents who say they lost their children to online harms.Â
A spokesperson for Cruz did not provide details about what he would do next with the legislation, adding that his support for the bill was “consistent” with his previous statements.Â
(Reporting by Courtney Rozen; Editing by Edward Tobin and Jamie Freed)
