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Attorney General Jones Joins Bipartisan Effort Urging Congress to Pass Kids Online Safety Act  

RICHMOND, Va. – Attorney General Jones joined a bipartisan coalition of 45 attorneys general urging Congress to pass the Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), legislation aimed at strengthening online protections for children and teens. 

“Social media companies have a responsibility to protect users engaging with their platforms, especially our children. These multibillion-dollar corporations are creating products that are detrimental to our young people, their mental health, and their attention spans,” said Attorney General Jay Jones. “It is time for Congress to come together and pass the strongest possible version of this legislation.” 

The effort, led by the attorneys general of Hawaiʻi, Connecticut, Ohio and Tennessee, calls on Congress to establish stronger nationwide protections for children online. In a letter to congressional leadership, Attorney General Jones and other participating attorneys general expressed continued support for Senate Bill 1748, which would establish minimum safety standards for social media and gaming platforms while preserving states’ authority to enact and enforce laws protecting children from online harms.  

In their letter, the attorneys general emphasized that the safeguards established through the Meta settlement, while significant, cannot provide consistent protections across the entire technology industry. 

The attorneys general also highlighted the importance of KOSA’s Duty of Care provision, which would establish a lasting standard for all social media and gaming platforms that extends beyond the term of the settlement. Unlike a settlement with an individual company, this legislation would adapt as technologies and platform features evolve, while preserving the states’ ability to develop and enforce additional protections against emerging online harms.  

Since 2021, state attorneys general have investigated major social media platforms over concerns about addictive design features and their impacts on children’s mental health. Those investigations led to lawsuits against Meta and other companies, as attorneys general sought to hold platforms accountable for practices that allegedly harmed young users. 

The renewed call for federal legislation follows the recently announced $17 billion multistate settlement with Meta, which requires the company to implement significant safeguards designed to protect users under 18 on Facebook and Instagram. These include daily time limits, restrictions on nighttime use, stronger protections against bullying, limits on certain potentially harmful content, and enhanced parental controls. 

Attorney General Jones joined the effort led by Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, along with attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. 

Published on: November 5, 2026

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