Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plans to announce in a speech that he will bring the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) to the Senate floor this week for a procedural vote. This tees up the biggest step yet on the federal level to move forward with a law in the area of children’s online safety legislation.
“Over the past few months I’ve met with families from across the country who have gone through the worst thing a parent could endure – losing a child,” Schumer said in a statement. “Rather than retreating into the darkness of their loss, these families lit a candle for others with their advocacy. I am proud to work side-by-side with them and put on the floor legislation that I Believe will pass and better protect our children from the negative risks of social media and other online platforms. It has been long and daunting road to get this bill passed, which can change and save lives, but today, we are one monumental step closer to success.”
KOSA would impose a duty of care on online platforms to take reasonable steps to mitigate certain harms to minors, require the option for parental controls for the accounts of minors, and prevent features like autoplay. COPPA 2.0 would build on an existing children’s privacy law to raise the age for privacy protections from 13 to 17 and ban targeted advertising for that group.
Some advocacy groups like Fight for the Future and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have remained critical of KOSA, fearing it would stifle speech across the internet and could limit access to certain resources for marginalized kids on ideological grounds. While other groups, including prominent LGBTQ+ groups like GLAAD and The Trevor Project, had previously raised concerns that KOSA could be weaponized against resources for LGBTQ+ youth, they dropped their opposition after the bill’s sponsors made several changes.
Schumer had tried to pass the bills through unanimous consent — an expedited way to pass legislation if no senator opposes it — but late last year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced he’d oppose such a move due to concerns about the earlier version’s impact on LGBTQ+ content. Still, the bills have overwhelming support that should ensure their success in the chamber so long as they are given the time to proceed. KOSA, for example, has had more than 60 cosponsors for months, clearing the threshold needed to pass the chamber.