This commentary is by 17 Vermont state legislators. Their names are listed below the text of the commentary.
There’s a battle happening over your child’s safety — and most Vermonters have no idea it’s underway. That’s because it’s being waged behind closed doors: not in press conferences or public hearings, but in whispered conversations, anonymous letters and legal threats from some of the most powerful corporations in the world.
As Vermont state legislators and sponsors of the Vermont Kids Code (S.69) — also known as the Age-Appropriate Design Code — we’ve been on the frontlines of this fight. We want to share what we’ve seen, what’s really at stake, and why we need Vermonters to stand up and speak out before it’s too late.
S.69 is a common-sense bill designed to protect children online. It prohibits manipulative features like autoplay and endless scroll for minors. It prevents companies from making programming decisions designed to addict and exploit. It defaults to strong privacy settings. And it says that if a company knows that its product is being used by a kid, they have a duty to protect them — not exploit them.
But Big Tech doesn’t want that.
Your child’s attention is money. Their data is money. Their mental health? Their safety? That’s just collateral damage.
So the moment this bill started moving, the industry mobilized. But they didn’t show up themselves — not Meta, not Snap, not TikTok, not Google.
Instead, they deployed front groups — organizations with friendly sounding names like NetChoice and TechNet, funded by Big Tech but designed to appear neutral. These groups flooded lawmakers with memos filled with legal jargon and exaggerated fears of censorship.
Big Tech refused to testify in public. And their front groups? They didn’t come out of the gate disclosing who they represent. And not once — not once — did they mention the stories of children whose lives have been destroyed by the very systems we’re trying to regulate.
They didn’t talk about the 12-year-old Vermont girl who was allegedly raped by a man Snapchat recommended as a friend she might know.
They didn’t talk about the students whose bodies were found after months of algorithm-fueled self-harm and depression.
They didn’t talk about the parents who wake up every morning knowing their child will never come home again — because a multibillion-dollar company couldn’t be bothered to turn off a notification.
Instead, they told us our bill might be “too hard” to comply with.
That’s not a legal argument. That’s a business model problem.
The truth is, we built this bill to withstand court scrutiny. We studied rulings in other states. We tailored the language. We removed any provision that regulated speech and focused only on product design and data processing. We listened to civil liberties groups, constitutional scholars and children’s advocates. We did the work. Because that’s our job.
The opposition? They’re doing theirs too — but their job is to protect profit.
These conflicting goals create a difficult fight. If we walked away from every hard fight, no child would wear a seatbelt. No parent would know if a toy was toxic. This is how progress happens. You write the strongest law you can, and then you defend it — because the cost of doing nothing is simply too high.
And here’s what keeps us up at night: every day we delay, more kids are being hurt.
More are being addicted. More are being preyed upon. More are falling victim to a system designed to exploit them.
The 2025 S.69 Age-Appropriate Design Code passed the Vermont Senate on a vote of 25–5 and the Vermont House on a vote of 133–9 with strong tri-partisan support. The Legislature is expected to continue moving the bill forward and eventually send it to Gov. Phil Scott’s desk.
If you are a parent, a grandparent, an educator or a young person tired of being treated like a product — you have a role to play.
Contact the governor’s office today. Ask him to stand with Vermont families — not with the powerful out-of-state corporations working behind the scenes to stop this bill.
Because this is the industry playbook. Meta, Snap, TikTok and Google profit from addicting and exploiting children — and when lawmakers push back, they send in front groups to confuse, delay and weaken the response.
Gov. Scott has an opportunity to rise above their tactics and lead.
We may not have their billions. But we have the truth. And the truth is, this bill will save lives.
Let’s make sure the governor hears from Vermonters — not just Silicon Valley. Let’s show our kids that when it mattered, we stood up for them.
Rep. Monique Priestley, D-Bradford
Rep. Michael Marcotte, R-Coventry
Rep. Edye Graning, D-Jericho
Rep. Angela Arsenault, D-Williston
Rep. Dave Bosch, R-Clarendon
Rep. Emily Carris-Duncan, D-Whitingham
Rep. Brian Cina, P/D-Burlington
Sen. Wendy Harrison, D-Windham
Rep. Troy Headrick, I-Burlington
Rep. Jed Lipsky, I-Stowe
Rep. Tony Micklus R-Milton
Rep. Rob North, R-Ferrisburgh
Sen. Rob Plunkett, D-Bennington
Rep. Chris Pritchard, R-Pawlet
Rep. Laura Sibilia, I-Dover
Rep. Mike Southworth, R-Walden
Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden-Central
