We, the undersigned Attorneys General, as the chief legal officers of our states, write in opposition to the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act), H.R. 7757. While the KIDS Act claims to “protect children and teens online, empower parents and strengthen families,”1 the bill would instead insulate Big Tech from appropriate oversight and accountability and imperil the young people it purports to protect.

We recognize the serious and growing risk that many online digital platforms pose to minors. Indeed, State Attorneys General have commenced litigation to hold accountable some of the largest tech companies.
1 H.R. 7757, Preamble. platforms for harming children in our jurisdictions. Many of our states have passed landmark
legislation addressing the same harms the KIDS Act misleadingly purports to mitigate.
The KIDS Act, which concerns a remarkably broad collection of prominent online
policy questions—including online obscenity,2 online harms to children,3 social gaming
platforms,4 and artificial intelligence chatbots5—would preempt conflicting state law in each
covered domain.6 Although the bill permits limited enforcement by State Attorneys General,7
it empowers federal preemption and intervention of such enforcement in all cases.8
Such sweeping federal preemption is independently alarming, but the bill’s
inadequate approach to these issues compounds our concern.
Tellingly, the bill’s “Kids Online Safety” provisions expressly disavow any duty of care.9
And another section of that subtitle specifically disclaims any age assurance obligation for
covered platforms.10 The bill permits market and product-focused research on minors under
the guise of “privacy, security, transparency, or safety.”11 And furthermore, the bill’s “Artificial
Intelligence Chatbots” provisions include a gaping enforcement loophole for AI chat
functions that can be construed as “incidental” to the platform’s “primary purpose.”12
To be clear, we appreciate the valuable role federal legislation can play in tech policy.
In that spirit, many State Attorneys General strongly support the Kids Online Safety Act, S.
1748, which has broad bipartisan sponsorship; preserves states’ authority to enact laws,
rules, or regulations that similarly protect children; prohibits market or product-focused
research on children; and imposes upon online platforms a meaningful duty of care.
But unmistakably, the KIDS Act misses the mark. The bill not only fails to meaningfully
protect kids, but also, imperils the significant progress our jurisdictions have achieved on a
wide array of tech issues. Given the rate of technological progress and the limited efforts to
date to pass responsive laws that protect children, it is too soon to shut down the
“laboratories of democracy.” State law legal developments, through both legislation and
enforcement, are the surest route to legal innovation that can approach the speed of
technological innovation.
2 Id. at Title I.
3 Id. at Title II.
4 Id. at Title III.
5 Id. at Title IV.
6 Id. at §§ 106; 221; 237; 244; 304; 407.
7 Id. at § 601(b).
8 Id. at § 601.
9 Id. at § 213(c)(2).
10 Id. at § 220.
11 Id. at § 243(a)(1).
12 Id. at § 402(1)(B).
We can—and must—create a safer digital environment for generations of American
children. The State Attorneys General stand as your partners in that important work and
appreciate your attention to this critical issue.
William Tong
Connecticut Attorney General
Anne E. Lopez
Hawaii Attorney General
Dave Yost
Ohio Attorney General
Jonathan Skrmetti
Tennessee Attorney General
Steve Marshall
Alabama Attorney General
Kris Mayes
Arizona Attorney General
Tim Griffin
Arkansas Attorney General
Rob Bonta
California Attorney General
Phil Weiser
Colorado Attorney General
Kathy Jennings
Delaware Attorney General
Brian Schwalb
District of Columbia Attorney General
Chris Carr
Georgia Attorney General
Kwame Raoul
Illinois Attorney General
Kris Kobach
Kansas Attorney General
Liz Murrill
Louisiana Attorney General
Aaron Frey
Maine Attorney General
Anthony G. Brown
Maryland Attorney General
Andrea Campbell
Massachusetts Attorney General
Dana Nessel
Michigan Attorney General
Keith Ellison
Minnesota Attorney General
Lynn Fitch
Mississippi Attorney General
Catherine Hanaway
Missouri Attorney General
Mike Hilgers
Nebraska Attorney General
Aaron D. Ford
Nevada Attorney General
John Formella
New Hampshire Attorney General
Jennifer Davenport
New Jersey Attorney General