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Jimmy Williams
In a rare display of bipartisan cooperation, the U.S. Senate is gearing up to vote this week on two significant children’s online safety bills, just over three months before a heated presidential election. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced on Tuesday that he has scheduled a procedural vote for Thursday on the Kid’s Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children’s and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0).
The bills are anticipated to pass the Senate and would then need approval from the House, where Republican leaders have also shown strong interest in enacting online safety legislation for children. However, with lawmakers preparing to leave Washington for the August recess, the timing remains uncertain.
Support and Opposition
Tech giants like Microsoft and Snap have endorsed KOSA, while other social media companies have yet to take formal positions. Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union and various free speech and civil liberties groups, argue that the bill’s broad definition of harm could lead to the censorship of politically sensitive content, such as gender equality or abortion rights discussions.
Legislative Process
Schumer has been working closely with Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and the bills’ sponsors—Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Bill Cassidy, R-La.—to address concerns and garner broader support. KOSA currently has over 60 co-sponsors, sufficient to overcome a filibuster.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer emphasized the urgency of passing the bills, recounting his meetings with parents whose children died by suicide due to their experiences on social media. “Nothing has galvanized me and so many others of us here in the Senate more to act on kids’ online safety than meeting with parents who’ve lost loved ones,” Schumer said. “Some of these kids were bullied, others were targeted by predators or had their personal, private information stolen—practically all of them suffered deep mental health anguish in some way and felt like they had nowhere to turn.”
Bill Provisions
– KOSA: Authored by Blumenthal and Blackburn, this bill would require social media companies to enhance protections for users under age 17, provide guardians with more control over minors’ use, prevent certain features like autoplay, and offer users a dedicated page to report harmful content.
– COPPA 2.0: Written by Markey and Cassidy, this bill would establish robust online privacy protections for anyone under age 17, prohibit targeted advertising to kids and teens, and introduce an eraser button to allow parents and kids to delete information.
House Prospects
Once the bills pass the Senate, their fate in the House remains uncertain. Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, D-Wash., has expressed a commitment to advancing both bills, but a markup session has yet to be scheduled. With the November election approaching and the possibility of an early August recess, the timeline is tight.
House Republican leadership will decide the next steps for the legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., emphasized the importance of parental control and safety tools, stating, “Parents should have greater control and the necessary tools to protect their kids online. I am committed to working to find consensus in the House.”
Schumer underscored the need for swift action, saying, “Social media has helped hundreds of millions of people to connect in new ways over the last two decades, but there are also new and sometimes serious health risks that come along with those benefits. We cannot set these risks aside; on this issue, we desperately need to catch up.”
