Meta Platforms is reportedly lobbying U.S. Congress to include legal immunity from certain child-harm lawsuits tied to its social media products, according to reporting that cites a source familiar with the matter and proposed legislative language reviewed by Reuters. The effort comes as Meta faces thousands of claims from young users and their families who allege harm related to features of platforms such as Instagram. The reported language is discussed in connection with the Senate’s Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Reuters and other outlets describe the proposal as a form of immunity that, if adopted and enacted as part of the KOSA package, could limit or undermine the ability of plaintiffs to pursue many existing claims against Meta and other online platforms.
One report also states that Meta proposed the immunity language in exchange for dropping its opposition to KOSA. The outlets further note that KOSA would require platforms to mitigate harms to minors connected to product features such as infinite scrolling, notifications, and appearance-altering filters. Legislators have not indicated whether they will adopt the proposed immunity provisions.
