Child online safety bill that won broad support in Senate hits a roadblock in House

A bill to improve children’s online privacy and safety that won broad bipartisan support in the Senate is stalling in the House amid opposition from leadership, underscoring divisions within Republicans over tech policy.

Supporters of the legislation are optimistic it will pass before the end of the year, hoping the momentum from Senate passage will show that House resistance is an obstacle, not a wall.

But the way forward is unclear.

A senior House staffer told The Hill that concerns from across the Republican Party in the House of Representatives about the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) — which passed the Senate last month on a 91-3 vote as part of a package that also included provisions such as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Action Act (known as COPPA 2.0) — indicate it “cannot be enacted in its current form.”

“It could lead to censorship of conservative speech, such as pro-life positions, is almost certainly unconstitutional and gives sweeping new powers to unelected bureaucrats at the (Federal Trade Commission),” the senior aide said.

The bill, which would set rules for the types of features that technology and social media companies can offer to minors online, is the culmination of years of advocacy and growing public awareness about the potential addictiveness of social media and its effects on young people’s mental health.

But opponents say the measure as currently drafted is not the solution.

“It’s a pleasant surprise that questions about how the bill will work in practice have filtered through to the narrative that something needs to be done,” said Josh Withrow, a resident fellow of technology and innovation at the free-market research group R Street Institute, which has been critical of the legislation.

At the heart of the bill and the controversy surrounding it is KOSA’s “duty of care” provision, which requires platforms to design and implement features to prevent and mitigate harm to minors, such as harm caused by content promoting suicide, eating disorders, and sexual exploitation.

Just as support for the bill cuts across ideologies, Republicans have strange allies in opposition.

The ACLU sent high school students to Capitol Hill last month to lobby against the bill. Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, said the organization worries that “platforms will end up censoring content that they think the FTC thinks is harmful.”

“A future Republican administration could attempt to censor LGBTQ voices and content or information about reproductive health care,” Leventoff said.

Supporters of the bill argue that the concerns of House leaders and other critics are overblown and that they misunderstand how the legislation works.

“KOSA prohibits practices like manipulative marketing, amplification of harmful content, and harmful design features that harm young people online. KOSA does not require social media companies to remove, filter, or block content,” Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), a leader of the House version of KOSA, said in a statement. “Instead, the bill would require these companies to design platform features with the best interests of young users in mind and to prioritize the well-being of these users over engagement or profit.”

Danny Weiss, chief advocacy officer at the nonprofit Common Sense Media, which is sponsoring the legislation, said the changes in the bill give the FTC less of a role than in previous versions — changes that won support from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Weiss noted that Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), now former President Trump’s running mate, supported the bill.

“KOSA is about safety by design. These claims are being pushed by big tech companies, including Google and Meta, to allow them to continue to take advantage of our children,” Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the leaders of the KOSA and COPPA 2.0 legislation that passed the Senate last month, said in a joint statement to The Hill.

Despite the House pushback, KOSA advocates remain optimistic. Blackburn and Blumenthal said they are “confident the Kids Online Safety Act will be signed into law this year.”

Chairman Mike Johnson (R-La.) previously spoke positively about the need to address children’s online safety, giving hope to KOSA supporters.

“It’s clear that we need to protect children in terms of online activities,” Johnson told CNBC last month. “The internet is the Wild West, and some of these reforms are overdue.”

But while he suspected it would receive “strong support,” Johnson said the House would “look at the exact details of the legislation.”

If the Senate-passed legislation does not reach a vote, one option to move the legislation forward is for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to mark up the House version of KOSA.

Josh Golin, executive director of the nonprofit Fairplay, which advocates for child consumer safety, said his group is “fairly confident” the price increase will pass the House of Representatives in September.

“We see that as the logical and necessary next step, regardless of which way this bill goes,” Golin said.

But with only 13 days of voting scheduled in the House that month before lawmakers take another recess for the election, there is a time pressure. The results of the election could change lawmakers’ thinking about advancing KOSA and COPPA 2.0.

Complicating the dynamic are disagreements between House Energy and Commerce Committee leadership and Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) that became public earlier this year. The committee abruptly canceled a planned markup of 11 bills in June, including KOSA, after GOP leaders came out against another major technology bill in the batch. McMorris Rodgers, like many Republican members of the committee, favors KOSA.

“I am an eternal optimist — I choose to see opportunities where others see challenges,” Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), a lead sponsor of the House version of KOSA, said in a statement, adding that he “looks forward to doing what it takes to build on that success and get meaningful legislation across the finish line.”

“It is critical that we implement stronger protection measures for children while providing parents with the tools they need to keep their children safe,” Bilirakis said.

Another option is to attach KOSA to a must-pass piece of legislation, such as a continuing resolution or an omnibus funding bill. Common Sense Media’s Weiss recalled that KOSA and COPPA were considered for inclusion in a 2022 omnibus package, but that negotiators ultimately ruled it out.

However, Weiss still believes the best course of action is for the House of Representatives to take up the Senate-passed bill — and for members to campaign to address families’ concerns about children online.

“Nobody thought the Senate would act. Majority Leader Schumer promised to get this done. He did it,” Weiss said. “The House has the ability to do exactly the same thing, and they can do it before the election, and they can send a powerful message to voters at home that they listened and they acted.”

Fairplay’s Golin said that as his group tries to drum up support for KOSA in the House of Representatives, it plans to facilitate meetings between parent advocates and lawmakers.

“(Parents) whose children have died from online violence have been incredibly able to change hearts, minds and voices when they have their encounters with members directly,” Golin said.

“Don’t underestimate these parents and young people, because they are pretty incredible. And when they tell their stories firsthand to members of Congress, it really makes a difference.”