WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate Judiciary Committee announced a hearing on June 24, 2026, to compel the CEOs of Meta, Alphabet, TikTok, and Snap to testify in Washington, D.C., about children's online safety. The announcement coincided with ongoing advocacy from families and recent legislative developments concerning online platforms.

On the same day, Alexander Neville and Carson Bride were recognized in Washington, D.C., alongside 270 other children and young people who died due to online harms. Alexander Neville died at age 14 after a drug dealer connected with him on Snapchat and sold him a pill. Carson Bride died by suicide at age 16 after experiencing severe cyberbullying. Their mothers, Kristin Bride and Amy Neville, lost their sons on June 23, 2020. Families have established June 23 as Social Media Victims Remembrance Day, and the Senate has annually passed a resolution since 2024 to recognize it as Social Media Harms Victim Remembrance Day.

Matthew Bergman, head of the Social Media Victims Law Center, represents over 1,000 plaintiffs in lawsuits against social media companies. Juries have issued two verdicts against Meta and one against Google in cases related to online child safety. Bergman stated that Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which shields tech companies from legal responsibility for posted content, "It is still a hurdle, but it is no longer a barrier."

Lawmakers in the House unveiled the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act on June 23, 2026. This proposed legislation includes portions of the Kids Online Safety Act, which passed the Senate in 2024. Critics state that the bill does not include a "duty of care" provision. Senator Marsha Blackburn stated, "Without a duty of care, Big Tech companies will maintain the status quo of putting profit before the safety of our children."

Senator Amy Klobuchar advocated for the repeal of Section 230 at an event in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2026. Amy Neville, an advocate whose son was among those honored, stated, "Moving forward for me, it's this groundswell. We now have the court of public opinion on our side, and that is powerful. That has brought things to the next level." She added, "Every morning I wake up, lives are on the line. If we're not talking about these things, if we're not doing something about it, lives are on line."

Snap stated in a written communication that it continuously works to strengthen safety protections across its platform. Instagram restricts teen accounts to content aligning with "PG-13" ratings, sets these accounts to private, and prevents strangers from messaging them. YouTube offers a separate kids app and provides parental controls on its primary platform for "supervised kid accounts" for preteens.

Bergman stated, "Their fundamental incentive to design products that maximize engagement has not changed." He added, "Yes, there have been some improvements. A 13-year-old child is not by default provided with an open account for adult predators to prey upon. So, you know, there are baby steps, but there are steps in the right direction. We just need more of them." The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which took effect in 2000, requires kid-oriented apps and websites to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13.