Ashley Moody calls for stepped up social media regulations amid Congressional hearings on Meta

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody added her voice Tuesday to rising criticism of online social media platforms posing threats to children as the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee was about to begin hearings on the issue.

“We are the first generation of parents who are trying to protect our children from perpetrators and dangers and we can’t do that any more by locking our front door,” Moody said. “We have been kept in the dark. How in the world can you protect your children when you don’t know what those dangers are?”

Moody participated in a bipartisan news conference before the Judiciary Committee began hearings into claims that Meta, which owns Facebook, was not doing anything to shield children from sexually explicit material and predatory activity. Accusations stemmed from employees at Facebook who leaked information.

Senators at the news conference renewed calls to finalize approval of what’s been dubbed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which was originally proposed three years ago but has yet to get approval in the U.S. House of Representatives after the Senate gave its approval in 2024.

KOSA calls for social media platforms “to implement tools and safeguards to protect users and visitors under the age of 17.”

Moody said as Florida’s Attorney General before being appointed to the Senate this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis, she was constantly battling internet threats to children. She said there’s a clear set of serious criminal challenges facing children on social media platform.

She said predators can get to children online in their bedrooms and parents may never know. Moody added there are programs and algorithms being developed that impact children’s mental health, in some cases resulting suicide. Many parents don’t know how to respond because they don’t understand the technology. Moody also said the sheer volume of “obscene, explicit, harmful material online” has skyrocketed.

“From predators to addictive algorithms to dangerous material, it is a tidal wave,” Moody said.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee hosted the news conference at her office. She and Moody, both Republicans, were joined by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, both Democrats.

The lawmakers were also joined by Brian Montgomery and Maurine Molak, parents of different children who committed suicide after incidents on social media.

The hearing before the Judiciary Committee is probing claims by Facebook and Meta “whistleblowers” that Meta knew of potential threatening material to children, but chose not to address it.