WASHINGTON, DC (November 9, 2026) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) says Congress needs to prioritize child safety online by passing the Kids Online Safety Act during the lame-duck session, pointing to Big Tech’s new lawsuits filed in California and Alabama as evidence the industry wants to avoid accountability for protecting children.
Meta, Google, and TikTok sued California to block a law to restrict social media companies from targeting children 16 and younger with addictive content. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, an industry group of which Meta and Google are members, sued Alabama over its App Store Accountability Act. Both laws take effect in January 2027.
“Big Tech does not want to protect children. The industry’s lawsuits in CA and AL clearly demonstrate its contempt for widely supported, commonsense laws passed to protect children from online harms. Big Tech claims to want to protect kids but then files lawsuits in an attempt to quash laws intended to do just that. This cat-and-mouse game must end because our children’s very lives are at stake,” said Richie Hamm, President, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“The U.S. Congress has an opportunity to instill accountability into the tech industry now during the lame duck session. It must pass the bipartisan Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act with its strong ‘Duty of Care’ that will hold tech platforms accountable for ensuring safety-by-design principles are instituted into their platforms and products from the start.
“At the state level, we urge legislators to introduce and pass the App Store Child Protection Act (formerly known as the App Store Accountability Act) to hold app stores accountable for obtaining verifiable parental consent before minors can download apps or make in-app purchases.
“Children are being egregiously harmed, even fatally, online by predators seeking to sexually exploit them, powerful algorithms that prey on their vulnerabilities and encourage suicide challenges, and easy access to pornography. Big Tech will fight against any accountability to protect our nation’s most vulnerable. It’s time for a Big Tech reckoning,” Hamm said.
The Kids Online Safety Act, which has 77 Senate cosponsors, has been championed by 42 state Attorneys General.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
To schedule an interview with NCOSE, please contact press@ncose.com.
