The House of Representatives voted 267-117 yesterday to pass the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, a strongly supported legislative package to protect children online.
The bipartisan kids online safety package would set baseline federal standards for protecting kids online while allowing states to adopt stricter rules. It also includes measures aimed at reducing social media addiction, expanding parental controls and adding safeguards for AI chatbots.
The package emerged from the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week. Chairman and Representative Brett Guthrie (R-KY) said the committee worked hard to reach a compromise, as Congress only has a few weeks left before the August recess.
“While no single bill will solve every challenge facing families online, this legislation represents a significant and long-overdue step forward in establishing meaningful standards,” Rep. Guthrie said, adding that Congress will continue to work to protect kids online.
Some lawmakers have pushed back on similar legislation, citing concerns of government overreach. A similar bill, the App Store Accountability Act, sparked debate over whether the government needed to grant parents the authority to supervise the apps their children were downloading.
“Who’s paying the bill for the phone? Well, there you go,” Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) told Texas Politics on whether the bill was necessary to give parents control over their kids' phones.
A version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which aims to impose new safety obligations on tech platforms, is also included in the package. It passed the Senate in 2024 but has repeatedly stalled in the House amid concerns over censorship.
Although the KIDS Act includes parts of the Senate-passed KOSA, it omits the “duty of care provision,” requiring platforms to actively prevent and mitigate harms to children on their sites.
The House version will now head to the Senate, but several lawmakers have said the provision is essential, raising doubts about whether it will pass. Yet others, like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) have said they’d be open to negotiating with the House over the package.
“Parents across the country agree: It’s time Congress answered the call and hold Big Tech accountable,” Sen. Cruz said on the Senate floor when KOSA passed.
