Marketplace Tech Bipartisan bill would help parents to monitor kids' social media for harmful activity
Sep 11, 2025
A bipartisan push is underway in Congress to pass Sammy's Law, aimed at helping parents monitor their children's social media use. The legislation stems from a tragic incident involving a teen who lost his life due to fentanyl bought online. Discussions highlight the challenges of defining harmful content and the need for better access to kids' online activities. As momentum builds, there’s potential for a House hearing to further explore these critical issues surrounding children's safety on digital platforms.
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Platforms Block Third-Party Monitoring
- Social platforms currently wall off private messages and even main feeds from third-party monitoring apps.
- That opacity prevents parents and apps from detecting exchanges that lead to harms like drug purchases.
Tragic Origin Story Behind Sammy's Law
- Samuel Chapman lost his son after the teen purchased fentanyl via social media messages.
- His experience motivated the push for Sammy's Law to give parents visibility into risky communications.
Build Legal Guardrails For Trustworthy Monitoring
- Design rules in law to let monitoring apps target specific harms while preventing misuse of data.
- Create trust by requiring clear limits so apps monitor for harms and not spy or repurpose user data.