November 4, 2026 – For millions of children and teens in Hawaiʻi, social media has been part of everyday life. Now, 45 attorneys general, including Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez, have decided to ask Congress to set stronger rules for the platforms young people use.

Lopez has been leading a bipartisan effort urging Congress to pass the United States Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act, known as KOSA.

The proposed law would set minimum safety standards for social media and gaming platforms while allowing states to create and enforce their own protections.

The push followed a recently announced $17 billion multistate settlement with Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram.

“While the Meta settlement represents a significant step forward in protecting children online, our work is far from over,” Lopez said. “Children deserve meaningful protections regardless of which social media platform they use.”

The settlement required safeguards for users under 18 that include:

• Daily time limits.
• Nighttime restrictions.
• Stronger anti-bullying protections.
• Limits on certain potentially harmful content.
• Improved parental controls.

But the attorneys general said one company’s settlement cannot protect children across the entire technology industry.

“Congress has an opportunity to build on the work states have already done by establishing strong, nationwide safety standards while preserving our ability to respond to emerging threats and hold companies accountable,” added Lopez.

A key part of the proposed law was its Duty of Care provision. This would establish an ongoing safety standard for social media and gaming companies that include protections to allow adaptation as technology and platform features change.

The provision would also preserve states’ authority to develop and enforce additional protections against online harms.

The effort will build on investigations that began in 2021 when state attorneys general examined major social media companies over concerns about addictive design features and their effects on children’s mental health.

Those investigations led to lawsuits against Meta and other companies over practices that allegedly harmed young users.

“Protecting children online requires a coordinated effort at both the state and federal levels,” Lopez said. “We urge Congress to act now to establish lasting protections that put the safety and well-being of children first.”

Lopez led the effort alongside attorneys general from Ohio, Tennessee and Connecticut with support from 45 states and jurisdictions’ attorneys general.

By Sandy Harjo Livingston, KHON 2
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