U.S. Senate Advances Landmark Children's Online Safety Bills

The U.S. Senate, in a broad bipartisan move, advanced two crucial online safety bills targeting social media companies' impact on children. The Kids Online Safety Act and Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act aim to enhance online safety and privacy for minors, setting the stage for a final vote next week.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday took a significant bipartisan step in advancing two key online safety bills aimed at protecting children and teens on social media platforms, addressing long-standing demands from parents and advocates. The legislative measures passed a critical procedural vote 86-1, setting the stage for a final vote next week.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic co-sponsor of the bills, declared, "Big Tech, we no longer trust you to make decisions for us. Car manufacturers are required to install seatbelts and airbags. The same has to be true of social media companies." Despite advancing in the Senate, the bills face an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which is in recess until September.

One of the proposed laws, the Kids Online Safety Act, mandates a "duty of care" for social media companies regarding minors, focusing on platform design and regulation. It would require default settings that protect minors' information and disable addictive features, targeting issues such as suicide and disordered eating.

The second bill, the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, aims to ban targeted advertising to minors and unauthorized data collection. Parents and kids could also demand the deletion of their information from social media platforms. These bills, nicknamed KOSA and COPPA 2.0, represent the first major legislative efforts to safeguard children's online experiences since 1998.

The bills also seek to grant researchers better access to social media algorithms to study their effects on children. Kris Perry, executive director of the digital media research nonprofit Children and Screens, noted, "It's overdue to make these products safer and expand our understanding of children's digital lives."

While some tech giants like Microsoft and Snap have expressed support, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms suggested federal law should require app stores to obtain parental consent for downloads by users under 16. The Biden administration has endorsed the bills, urging Congress to send them to the President for swift approval.

(With inputs from agencies.)