Hawaiʻi Attorney General Lopez backs federal legislation for keiki online safety measures

Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez led a bipartisan coalition of 45 state attorneys general in urging Congress to pass the Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act, federal legislation intended to strengthen online protections for children and teens.

In a letter to congressional leaders, the attorneys general backed Senate Bill 1748. According to the state Department of the Attorney General, the bill would set minimum safety standards for social media and gaming platforms while preserving states’ authority to enact and enforce their own laws protecting children from online harms.

The letter follows an August multistate settlement with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Hawaiʻi will receive up to $76 million, the department said. The settlement requires Meta to add safeguards for users younger than 18, including daily time limits, restrictions on nighttime use, stronger protections against bullying, limits on certain potentially harmful content and expanded parental controls. A news release from the department describes the settlement’s effect on Hawaiʻi.

Under the consent judgment, Meta’s deadlines run from the date the federal court enters the judgment. Meta must add default pauses at 60 and 90 minutes of daily use and a notice after 15 minutes of continuous use within four months, and meet the settlement’s compliance date six months after entry. The judgment sets a default limit of two hours a day for teen users, which a supervising parent can change.

The attorneys general wrote that the Meta settlement, while significant, cannot provide consistent protections across the technology industry.

“Children deserve meaningful protections regardless of which social media platform they use,” Lopez said. “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.”

The department said the bill’s Duty of Care provision would create a lasting standard for all social media and gaming platforms that continues beyond the term of the Meta settlement. Unlike an agreement with a single company, the department said, it would adapt as platforms and technologies evolve.

The department said the harms at issue are laid out in the states’ complaints against Meta and TikTok. The suit against TikTok, filed in December 2025, is ongoing. Attorneys general have investigated major social media platforms since 2021 over concerns about addictive design features and their effects on children’s mental health.

The department said the legislation focuses on how platforms are designed and operated, and that its concerns extend beyond mental health. It said it does not keep a centralized database that sorts complaints, investigations or prosecutions by type of online harm, and it had no Maui County figures to provide. The department said its Hawaiʻi Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which handles technology-facilitated sexual exploitation of children, does separate work from the consumer protection concerns in the letter.

For families, the department’s Crime Prevention and Justice Assistance Division offers Keeping Safe in Cyberspace presentations for students, teachers and parents, often alongside law enforcement. The department also suggested parents review privacy and parental control settings, talk with children about online safety and encourage open communication about their online experiences.

“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.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from its original version to clarify that the department’s Crime Prevention and Justice Assistance Division offers Keeping Safe in Cyberspace presentations.