"According to the CDC, two years ago one in three teenage girls contemplated suicide {and] one in ten teenage girls attempted suicide," Markey told reporters after the Senate had passed the bipartisan legislation, which will now go to the House of Representatives.
Earlier on Tuesday, the US Senate passed the Keep Our Children Safe (KOSA) bill by 91 votes to three, although its fate is still uncertain in the US House of Representatives. Powerful big tech corporations oppose the legislation because it would make them legally accountable for harmful content posted on social media.
However, Markey cited authoritative studies warning that such material played a major role in the mental health crisis among teenagers in the United States. Unless urgent action was quickly taken, the vastly increased computing power coming from the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will make the crisis far worse, he said.
"AI is going to take what we have today and put it on steroids," Markey added.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to work to ensure that the KOSA bill and also sweeping tax credits to help the families of at least half a million poor children would be passed by Congress.