Sen. Gounardes’ Bill to Protect Kids Online Will Be Included in Governor’s State of the State

The ‘Stop Online Predators Act’ protects kids on platforms like Roblox—and builds on Sen. Gounardes’ work to make the internet safer for young people

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 5, 2025

New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes issued the following statement in response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s announcement that she will include Sen. Gounardes’ “Stop Online Predators Act” (SOPA—formerly the New York Children's Online Safety Act) in her 2026 State of the State address:

“It’s a grim reality of the modern internet: the online platforms where our kids spend so much time are failing to protect them from predators. From toys to food to cars, we regulate all sorts of products to keep children safe. There’s no reason platforms like Roblox should be different. My Stop Online Predators Act protects kids from adults who seek to exploit them and holds Big Tech accountable for the safety of their products.”

“In recent years, I’ve fought for—and won—landmark safety regulations on addictive algorithms, predatory data collection, and advanced AI. With these commonsense protections, we’re once again sending a clear message that New York will always prioritize our kids’ well-being over Big Tech’s profits. I’m grateful to Governor Hochul for her partnership on this important bill.”

Background:

Roblox, where over 40% of users report they’re under 13, reported over 13,000 instances of child exploitation in 2023 alone, and responded to 1,300 requests for information from law enforcement. One research firm described the site as “an X-rated pedophile hellscape, exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech.”

This problem is pervasive across online social platforms, where adult users can collect troves of information about child users and lure them into private chats within minutes. More than 300 million children worldwide are victims of some type of online sexual exploitation and abuse, and reports of child sexual abuse material recently reached a record high of more than 36 million per year.

Some platforms have taken steps to create “privacy by default” settings for young users. But such halfhearted initiatives are inconsistent across the industry and insufficient to protect children, particularly in their lax approach to age verification.

The “Stop Online Predators Act” (S4609/A6549—formerly the New York Children's Online Safety Act), sponsored by Senator Gounardes’ and Assemblymember Nily Rozic, would address this urgent problem by requiring gaming and social media platforms to utilize a commercially reasonable form of age assurance in order to determine the actual age of their users, turn off open chat functions by default for kids, unless a parent switches them back on, so adult strangers can’t privately message minors. It would require children’s profiles be set to private so strangers can’t view them without a friend request, and only let adults message children if their friend request has been accepted, which would require parental approval for users under 13. 

The law would also require parents to approve financial transactions connected to a child’s account and, for kids under 13, allow parents to view the account’s list of approved friends. Enforcement against violations of the bill would be vested in the New York State Attorney General, who would be empowered to pursue damages of $5,000 per violation.

Press Contact:

Billy Richling

Communications Director

State Senator Andrew Gounardes

billy@senatorgounardes.nyc

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