Meta Lobbies US Senate for Liability Shield in Kids Online Safety Act

Meta Platforms is urging the US Senate to add a liability‑shield provision to the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The language would make online companies immune from state‑law claims involving the safety or privacy of anyone under 18, and would pre‑empt state regulations on children’s online safety.

Meta says the provision would not extinguish existing lawsuits but would create a uniform national framework for youth‑online safety. Critics, including the American Association for Justice, argue the language would block thousands of pending claims against Meta and other platforms and amount to blanket immunity for big‑tech companies.

The lobbying comes as Meta faces a wave of child‑harm lawsuits alleging that features such as infinite scrolling and notification alerts contribute to addictive behavior. A recent trial resulted in a multimillion‑dollar verdict against Meta and YouTube, underscoring the legal pressure on the company as KOSA moves through the Senate, sponsored by Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal.