00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 28                                                                     
01 Calling on the United States Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act.                                               
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS children and adolescents increasingly use online platforms, social media,                               
04 games, messaging applications, and video streaming services as integral parts of education,                             
05 communication, and social interaction; and                                                                              
06       WHEREAS these digital technologies offer benefits but also expose minors to                                     
07 significant risks that include exposure to harmful content, harassment, addictive design                                
08 features, compromised privacy, mental health harms, and exploitation; and                                               
09       WHEREAS numerous studies and public testimony to the United States Congress                                     
10 have documented the associations between excessive online exposure and adverse outcomes                                 
11 in children and adolescents, which include depression, anxiety, eating disorders,                                       
12 cyberbullying, and self-harm; and                                                                                       
13       WHEREAS current federal law does not require online platforms to implement                                      
14 comprehensive design safeguards to prevent foreseeable harm to individuals under 17 years of                            
15 age; and                                                                                                                
16       WHEREAS S. 1748, the Kids Online Safety Act, has been introduced in the 119th                                   

01 United States Congress and would require covered online platforms to implement tools and                                
02 safeguards, including default privacy protections, limits on compulsive design features, and                            
03 options to opt out of harmful algorithmic recommendations, that would protect users under 17                            
04 years of age; and                                                                                                       
05 WHEREAS S. 1748 would prohibit market or product research on children under 13                                        
06 years of age and restrict market or product research on minors who are 13 to 16 years of age                            
07 to only those minors whose parent provides consent, which would reduce data collection and                              
08 tracking practices that leverage the personal information of an individual under 17 years of                            
09 age; and                                                                                                                
10 WHEREAS S. 1748 would provide parents with accessible and easy-to-use tools to                                        
11 manage and monitor privacy settings, restrict purchases and screen time, and report harms                               
12 observed on platforms; and                                                                                              
13 WHEREAS the transparency requirements of S. 1748 would help families and                                              
14 policymakers understand how platforms interact with minors and would include independent                                
15 audits and public reporting on usage and efforts to mitigate harm; and                                                  
16 WHEREAS the enforcement provisions of S. 1748 would create accountability for                                         
17 compliance and ensure consistent application of safety standards through the Federal Trade                              
18 Commission and state attorneys general; and                                                                             
19 WHEREAS S. 1748 establishes a Kids Online Safety Council to advise the United                                         
20 States Congress on emerging risks to minors and best practices to protect minors' well-being                            
21 online; and                                                                                                             
22 WHEREAS passing S. 1748 would affirm the United States Congress's commitment                                          
23 to protecting the privacy, safety, and mental health of children and adolescents in an                                  
24 increasingly digital world;                                                                                             
25 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully calls on the United                                     
26 States Congress and the President of the United States to pass S. 1748, the Kids Online Safety                          
27 Act, and sign it into law to enhance protections for children and adolescents on online                                 
28 platforms.                                                                                                              
29 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President                                   
30 of the United States; the Honorable JD Vance, Vice President of the United States and                                   
31 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                  

01 Representatives; the Honorable Chuck Grassley, President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate; the                            
02 Honorable John Thune, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski                                  
03 and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nicholas Begich, U.S.                                  
04 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the                              
05 119th United States Congress.