In the final minutes of a congressional hearing on Wednesday in which tech chief executives were berated for not protecting children online, Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, urged lawmakers to act to safeguard the internet’s youngest users.
Lawmakers have long made similar statements about holding tech companies to account — and have little to show for it.
Yet for years, that was where it ended: with no new federal regulations for the companies to follow.
And already, there are indicators that the topic of online child safety may gain more traction legislatively.
The efforts are backed by emotional accounts of children who were victimized online and died by suicide.
Persons:
Richard J, Durbin, ”
Organizations:
Lawmakers, Republicans, Democrats
Locations:
Illinois