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Congressman Jimmy Patronis has gone on the offensive against Big Tech, telling viewers on conservative outlets that the time for gentle entreaties is over and introducing H.R. 7045 — the PROTECT Act — to repeal Section 230 and force accountability for platforms that prey on kids. Patronis has repeatedly labeled these companies “digital fentanyl,” arguing they design products to hook young minds and then hide behind a legal shield written in 1996.
The PROTECT Act would strip the liability protections that have allowed social media companies to profit while escaping responsibility for addictive algorithms and dangerous content, a move Patronis says is necessary to restore parental control and common-sense consequences. He officially filed the legislation on January 14, 2026 and has framed it as the only meaningful way to make platforms behave like the responsible corporations they claim to be.
This push is not happening in a vacuum. Recent courtroom wins against major platforms — where juries have found companies like Meta and YouTube responsible for harms tied to addictive design — underscore that the legal theory underpinning Patronis’s bill has teeth and growing public support. Those verdicts should harden the spine of any lawmaker who has been timid about reining in tech.
Congressional momentum on protecting children online is building beyond a single bill: committees and lawmakers are advancing packages like the KIDS Act and debating KOSA-style reforms that would restrict addictive features and require safer defaults for minors. Senate hearings have even leaned on those verdicts to argue that further federal action is overdue, creating a rare bipartisan opening to confront the digital cartel.
Good conservatives should cheer a fight like this: defending childhood, strengthening families, and insisting that corporations answer for the human damage their products cause is plain common sense, not left- or right-wing noise. If Big Tech truly believes in its business model and morals, let them operate in a marketplace where they can’t hurt kids with impunity and hide behind an outdated immunity clause.
Patronis’s rhetoric is muscular and urgent because the evidence of harm is piling up and parents are done being told their hands are tied. Lawmakers who value liberty and family should back policies that restore accountability, empower parents, and force platforms to choose profit or the public good — they can’t have both at the expense of our children.
