The House of Representatives passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act on June 29 in a 267-117 vote, sending the first version of a federal kids-online-safety law on to the Senate, where it faces resistance over changes lawmakers made to the underlying Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), per The Hill.
The KIDS Act, brought to the floor under a fast-track suspension of the rules process requiring a two-thirds majority, consolidates provisions from 14 separate digital safety bills. Its passage followed a breakthrough a week earlier when House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) announced the package had won support from ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), months after bipartisan talks had stalled.
“While no single bill will solve every challenge facing families online, this legislation represents a significant and long-overdue step forward in establishing meaningful safeguards,” Guthrie said on the House floor. “It is an important milestone, not a finish line, in the effort to better protect children online and hold bad actors accountable.”
The bill requires platforms to give minors ways to limit addictive features and build in teen messaging controls and parental tools, and it sets new disclosure and policy requirements around AI chatbots, including restrictions on certain statements chatbots can make to minors. It also mandates age verification measures, updates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act through a COPPA 2.0 title, imposes new registration and disclosure rules on data brokers handling children’s data, and directs research and education efforts on topics including fentanyl sales on social media.
For platforms and the creator-facing ecosystem built on top of them, the addictive-feature and teen-messaging provisions would touch the same engagement mechanics that determine reach and monetization for younger audiences, while the AI chatbot disclosure rules would apply to any conversational AI product marketed to or used by minors, a category that increasingly includes creator- and fan-facing tools.
Notably absent from the House version is KOSA’s duty of care provision, which would have required platforms to exercise reasonable care to prevent harm to minors, including eating disorders, suicide, substance use disorders, and sexual exploitation. Tech watchdog groups and the Senate bill’s original co-authors, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), have argued that the provision is KOSA’s most important element. Blumenthal said last week the House version is “dead in the Senate,” though Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has said he is open to negotiating with the House.
Blackburn is separately negotiating with the White House on a package that could combine the Senate’s KOSA with the House’s App Store Accountability Act and preemption language for certain state laws. A source close to those talks told The Hill that Blackburn’s NO FAKES Act, which would protect artists from AI impersonation, is also expected to be included.
The Senate passed its version of KOSA in 2024 by a 91-3 vote, but the bill never reached the House floor amid Republican concerns over censorship and free speech. The June 29 vote marks the first time a version of KOSA has cleared the House.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
The House of Representatives passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act on June 29 in a 267-117 vote, sending the first version of a federal kids-online-safety law on to the Senate, where it faces resistance over changes lawmakers made to the underlying Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), per The Hill.
The KIDS Act, brought to the floor under a fast-track suspension of the rules process requiring a two-thirds majority, consolidates provisions from 14 separate digital safety bills. Its passage followed a breakthrough a week earlier when House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) announced the package had won support from ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), months after bipartisan talks had stalled.
“While no single bill will solve every challenge facing families online, this legislation represents a significant and long-overdue step forward in establishing meaningful safeguards,” Guthrie said on the House floor. “It is an important milestone, not a finish line, in the effort to better protect children online and hold bad actors accountable.”
The bill requires platforms to give minors ways to limit addictive features and build in teen messaging controls and parental tools, and it sets new disclosure and policy requirements around AI chatbots, including restrictions on certain statements chatbots can make to minors. It also mandates age verification measures, updates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act through a COPPA 2.0 title, imposes new registration and disclosure rules on data brokers handling children’s data, and directs research and education efforts on topics including fentanyl sales on social media.
For platforms and the creator-facing ecosystem built on top of them, the addictive-feature and teen-messaging provisions would touch the same engagement mechanics that determine reach and monetization for younger audiences, while the AI chatbot disclosure rules would apply to any conversational AI product marketed to or used by minors, a category that increasingly includes creator- and fan-facing tools.
Notably absent from the House version is KOSA’s duty of care provision, which would have required platforms to exercise reasonable care to prevent harm to minors, including eating disorders, suicide, substance use disorders, and sexual exploitation. Tech watchdog groups and the Senate bill’s original co-authors, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), have argued that the provision is KOSA’s most important element. Blumenthal said last week the House version is “dead in the Senate,” though Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has said he is open to negotiating with the House.
Blackburn is separately negotiating with the White House on a package that could combine the Senate’s KOSA with the House’s App Store Accountability Act and preemption language for certain state laws. A source close to those talks told The Hill that Blackburn’s NO FAKES Act, which would protect artists from AI impersonation, is also expected to be included.
The Senate passed its version of KOSA in 2024 by a 91-3 vote, but the bill never reached the House floor amid Republican concerns over censorship and free speech. The June 29 vote marks the first time a version of KOSA has cleared the House.
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