Hawley makes push to allow parents to sue tech companies

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Tuesday he will introduce legislation to empower parents to sue leading social media companies over alleged harms to children and teens.

"Social media platforms don't change because they don't have any incentive, which is a very polite way of saying, there's no hammer on these people. They do whatever they want to do because they know nobody can effectively hold them accountable," Hawley said during a Senate Judiciary Hearing on fentanyl Tuesday.

Hawley delivered the remarks after hearing from Bridgette Norring, who testified before the committee to discuss the loss of her son, Devin, who died at the age of 19 after buying a fentanyl-laced pill through social media.

"They're making billions of dollars on their social media platforms, they're killing our kids. They're exposing them to all kinds of ungodly material, and they won't do anything about it because we can't hold them accountable," Hawley said.

"And I just want to say to members of this body that has got to change. It is time to give parents the right to sue these platforms," he continued. "No company in America has the liability shield that these companies have."

Hawley has been a fierce critic of Big Tech's impact on kids' safety and privacy in recent years.

The Missouri senator said empowering parents with the right to sue technology companies is vital as other methods like changing the rules on reporting do not stop the companies from taking what he believes is real action.

"I will introduce legislation this Congress to allow parents...to go to court and sue these companies," he said.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act largely protects social media companies from being sued over the content people post to their sites. It was not immediately clear what Hawley's bill will include to circumvent this.

Hawley introduced a bill in 2023 that would limit tech companies' legal immunity under Section 230, but this did not pass.

Just over a year ago, Hawley made headlines for his grilling of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who appeared before the Judiciary Committee alongside the leaders of four other popular social media networks. Amid pressure from Hawley, Zuckerberg eventually apologized to the families present at the hearing.

The hearing put a spotlight on alleged harms that come from these platforms and amped up pressure on both the companies and policymakers to do more to protect children and teens.

Still, by the end of last year, much of the legislation of kids' online safety did not make it past the finish line amid pushback, largely from House Republicans concerned about censorship.

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