Written by Marsha Blackburn
U.S. Senator<\/p>\n
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Washington, D.C. \u2013 Almost every industrial sector is required to provide goods and services that are safe by design. When you board a plane, buy a coffee pot, visit a theme park, eat at a restaurant, pick up a prescription, or fill up your gas tank, you can rest assured that the company has a duty of care to ensure your safety and prevent foreseeable harm. The one exception: Big Tech.<\/p>\n
When you log on to a social media site, nothing protects you from harmful product features\u2014and children have paid the biggest price. For years, social media companies have intentionally designed algorithms, push notifications, and endless scrolling to foster addiction among children while exposing them to serious harms, including sexual abuse, drug dealers, and pro-suicide material.<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence has only made the problem worse. Bad actors abuse the technology to generate child sexual abuse material, while AI chatbots sexualize children in roleplaying fantasies and even encourage users to commit suicide. Last week, I had the honor<\/a> of joining survivor parents who have lost their children to Big Tech harms for a rally outside the U.S. Capitol. Their message was clear: Congress must act to protect children in the virtual space to ensure that no other parent has to endure the tragedies they have experienced.<\/p>\n Thankfully, there is more momentum than ever before to finally hold Big Tech accountable following the landmark social media verdicts in California and New Mexico. Last month, I released a discussion draft<\/a> for the TRUMP AMERICA AI Act\u2014comprehensive legislation that would protect Americans online by creating one rulebook for AI. First and foremost, it would protect children by establishing and enforcing a duty of care.<\/p>\n It would also protect creators and their intellectual property rights, shield communities from bearing the costs of AI development, and ensure that AI platforms promote viewpoint diversity\u2014not censorship. This bill answers President Donald J. Trump\u2019s call for national AI standards and would accomplish the six key objectives<\/a> outlined in the White House\u2019s AI framework.<\/p>\n It should come as no surprise that the legislation is gaining broad support. Last week, I announced a growing coalition behind<\/a> the discussion draft: advocates for the creative community, including the Recording Industry Association of America, Motion Picture Association, and Nashville Songwriters Association International; child safety advocates, including ParentsSOS Co-Founder Maurine Molak, who lost her 16-year-old son David after he faced relentless bullying online; leading groups for responsible AI innovation, including the AI Policy Network, Alliance for Secure AI, and Americans for Responsible Innovation; and key conservative leaders like Mike Davis of the Article III Project.<\/p>\n This coalition has come together because the legislation protects what I call the 4 Cs\u2014children, creators, conservatives, and communities\u2014while ensuring that America wins the global race for AI supremacy.<\/p>\n To protect children, the legislation would ban companies from providing AI companion chatbots for minors. It would also include my<\/a> Kids Online Safety Act to ensure social media platforms are safe for children by default. Eighty-six percent of Americans want<\/a> tech companies held accountable for their role in the social media addiction crisis, and these provisions would make that happen.<\/p>\n To protect creators, the legislation includes my<\/a> NO FAKES Act to protect artists from unauthorized replications of their work. Last week, I hosted a roundtable with more than 20 creators who made clear that such abuses threaten their very livelihoods, as AI threatens to cut<\/a> musicians\u2019 incomes by a quarter in the coming years.<\/p>\n The bill would also create a federal right for individuals to sue companies for using their data and copyrighted material for AI training without explicit consent. Every American has an Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, constitutional right to benefit from their creative works\u2014and this provision would protect it in the age of AI.<\/p>\n