Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to bring a pair of major bills aimed at protecting kids online to the floor this week – a move that follows a months-long pressure campaign by the parents of victims.
The two bills – the Kids Online Safety Act and a related bill referred to as COPPA 2.0 – will receive an initial procedural vote as soon as Thursday, Schumer’s office confirmed. A vote on final passage is set to occur next week ahead of the Senate’s August recess.
The bills, which are widely seen as the most consequential crackdown on Big Tech’s social media platforms in decades, would then require passage in the House and the president’s signature to become law.
“It has been a 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,” Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement.
The top Senate Democrat added that he was “proud to work side-by-side” with parent advocates to shape the legislation that will “better protect our children from the negative risks of social media and other online platforms.”
Schumer has been under fire from groups such as Fairplay for Kids and Parents for Safe Online Spaces, as The Post has reported – with exasperated critics questioning why the long-delayed vote on KOSA had yet to occur despite the bipartisan bill having 69 cosponsors in the Senate.
Fairplay executive director Josh Golin praised Schumer for taking action on the bill and urged the Senate to pass it.
“The Senate has the opportunity to make history by passing the first legislation in 25 years to protect children online,” Golin said in a statement. “Big Tech’s greed and deliberate design choices have helped fuel a mental health crisis and caused far too many kids to die.”
The Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA would impose a legal “duty of care” on social media firms like Instagram and TikTok to protect minors from harassment, bullying, anxiety and sex abuse – or face enforcement action by the FTC.
It would also require the companies to allow children and their parents to disable addictive features designed to keep them hooked on the apps, as well as adhere to other restrictions.
The Children’s and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, blocks targeted ads aimed at underage users and would mandate creation of an “eraser” button on social media sites allowing kids and parents to delete information. The bill updates existing legislation that became law in 1998.
While the online safety bills have broad support from members of both parties in the Senate, their road to passage in the House is less certain.
A House version of KOSA has amassed a bipartisan group of at least 34 cosponsors to date, while a companion bill for COPPA 2.0 has at least 19 sponsors.
“Passing the bills out of the Senate on a bipartisan basis will put enormous pressure on the House,” one source close to the situation told The Post.
In a statement, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he was “committed to working to find consensus in the House” on the bills.
“I am looking forward to reviewing the details of the legislation that comes out of the Senate,” Johnson said. “Parents should have greater control and the necessary tools to protect their kids online.”
Not everyone is convinced KOSA is the proper path forward to protect kids online.
A key opponent in the upper chamber is Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has blocked Schumer’s attempt to move the legislation through a fast-tracked unanimous consent process, calling the bill government overreach.
Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also objected to fast-tracked passage of KOSA and has sought assurances that KOSA would not weaken Section 230, a controversial statute that shields tech firms from liability for third-party content posted on their platforms, sources told The Post last month.
Elsewhere, digital advocacy group Fight For The Future has referred to KOSA as “dangerous” and argued it “amounts to a “blank check for censorship” that could be weaponized to withhold key support resources for LGBTQ+ youth.
Congressional efforts to crack down on social media platforms intensified after a bombshell Capitol Hill hearing last January in which Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg issued a stunning apology to the families of victims of online abuse.
Executives from other platforms, including TikTok and Discord, also faced a grilling at the hearing.
Meta has yet to take a public stance on KOSA, though the company has said it supports federal regulation on online safety.
TikTok previously told The Post that “there are a range of potential options that can further youth safety online, and we welcome Congress’ participation in that discussion.”
Snapchat, X and Microsoft have broken ranks with the tech industry and publicly supported the bill.
With Post wires
