The US Senate today approved a series of measures to protect children online, the first major legislation to target the US technology industry in years.

“It’s a great day” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in greeting.

“Senate keeps promise to all parents who have lost a child to the dangers of social media“, he emphasized.

Henceforth this text must be adopted by the House of Representatives, where its approval is more uncertain and where MPs are on vacation until September.

The text, supported in the Senate by Republican and Democratic lawmakers, requires platforms to enact provisions to protect minors from problematic and dangerous content, notably sexual exploitation, online harassment and the promotion of suicide and eating disorders.

It will also limit users’ ability to communicate with children through online messaging apps and impose greater parental controls.

The groups Microsoft, X (formerly Twitter) and Snap expressed support for the text, while Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and TikTok did not show clear support.

Another strand of the text would strengthen confidentiality standards for minors and ban targeted advertising to children online.

The piece approved today by the Senate, however, faces opposition from associations defending minority rights (notably LGBTI+) and freedom of expression, who fear these laws will reinforce the isolation of some teenagers.

However, digital platforms have so far been largely shielded from any legal liability regarding the content shared on their website.

Many lawmakers want more rules to better regulate them, but new laws have been blocked by intense pressure from big tech companies.

And while lawmakers are largely in favor of combating the negative effects of social media on children, the deeply partisan Congress has struggled for years to enact concrete measures.

At the same time, nearly thirty US states filed lawsuits in late October against Meta, accusing its platforms, Facebook and Instagram, of harming “mental and physical health of young people“.

In mid-June, the US chief medical officer had called on social media to display information about the dangers facing young people who spend their time there, just as there are mandatory warning messages on cigarette packages.

Increased attention to social media is also being paid outside the United States.

In mid-May, the European Commission launched an investigation targeting Facebook and Instagram, suspected of engaging in addictive behavior among children and failing to comply with age verification obligations.

In a congressional hearing in late January, President Mark Zuckerberg issued a rare apology to victims of abuse of digital platforms.

“No one should have to go through what your families went through“, he admitted, stating that “sorry for everything you went through“.