Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to introduce two major bills this week aimed at protecting kids online, following months of pressure from parents who are victims.
Schumer’s office confirmed that the two bills, the Child Online Safety Act and a related bill called COPPA 2.0, will receive their first procedural votes as early as Thursday, with a final vote on passage expected next week before the Senate recesses for August.
The bill, widely seen as the most significant crackdown on big tech social media platforms in decades, must be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the president to become law.
“It’s been a long, hard road to pass this legislation that can change and save lives, but today we’re one step closer to success,” Sen. Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
The Senate’s top Democrat added that he was “proud to work collaboratively” with parent advocates to develop legislation to better protect children from the harmful effects of social media and other online platforms.
As The Washington Post reported, Schumer has come under fire from groups like Fair Play for Kids and Parents for Safe Online Spaces, with outraged critics questioning why a vote on KOSA has been delayed for so long, even though the bill has already been passed as a bipartisan bill in the Senate with 69 co-sponsors.
Fair Play Executive Director Josh Golin praised Schumer for taking action on the bill and urged the Senate to pass it.
“The Senate has a chance to make history by passing the first bill in 25 years to protect children online,” Golin said in a statement. “Big tech’s greed and deliberate design choices have fueled a mental health crisis and caused the deaths of too many children.”
The Child Online Safety Act (KOSA) would impose a legal “duty of care” on social media companies like Instagram and TikTok to protect minors from harassment, bullying, anxiety, and sexual abuse, subjecting them to FTC enforcement action if they fail to do so.
Companies would also be required to allow kids and their parents to disable addictive features designed to keep them hooked on the apps, and to comply with other restrictions.
The Children’s and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) would block ads targeted at minors and require social media sites to provide “erase” buttons to allow kids and parents to remove information. The bill amends an existing law enacted in 1998.
The Online Safety Act has broad support from senators of both parties in the Senate, but it is unclear whether it will pass the House of Representatives.
The House version of KOSA has attracted a bipartisan group of at least 34 co-sponsors so far, while a companion bill to COPPA 2.0 has at least 19 sponsors.
“If we pass the bill in the Senate on a bipartisan basis, it will put a lot of pressure on the House,” a source familiar with the matter told The Post.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said in a statement that he would “work hard to find consensus on the House floor” on the bill.
“I look forward to reviewing the details of the bill coming out of the Senate,” Johnson said. “Parents should have greater control and the tools they need to protect their children online.”
Not everyone is convinced that KOSA is the right way to protect kids online.
The chief opponent in the Senate was Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who called the bill an executive overreach and blocked Governor Schumer’s attempt to move it forward through a fast-track unanimous consent process.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also opposes early passage of KOSA, wanting assurances that it would not weaken Section 230, the controversial law that protects tech companies from liability for third-party content posted on their platforms, sources told The Washington Post last month.
Meanwhile, digital advocacy group Fight For The Future has called KOSA “dangerous,” arguing it amounts to a “blank cheque for censorship” and could be weaponized to withhold vital support resources from LGBTQ+ youth.
Congressional efforts to crack down on social media platforms intensified after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered a shocking apology to families of victims of online abuse during a shocking congressional hearing last January.
Executives from other platforms, including TikTok and Discord, also faced grilling during the hearing.
Meta has not yet taken an official stance on KOSA, but the company has said it supports federal regulations regarding online safety.
TikTok previously told The Washington Post that it “has a wide range of options that could make kids safer online, and we welcome Congress’ participation in those discussions.”
Snapchat, X and Microsoft have split with the tech industry and publicly supported the bill.
With post wire
