Senate Passes Children’s Online Safety Bills 91-3

House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., told us previously she plans a markup for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) (S-1409) and Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) (S-1418) when the lower chamber returns from recess (see 2407250050).

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against the bills with Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Lee, R-Utah. “I think there will be more resistance in the House,” Paul told us Tuesday. “I think there are more defenders of the First Amendment in the House than there are in the Senate.”

President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged the House to pass KOSA "without delay." The White House previously issued a statement in support of KOSA, which is considered the more controversial proposal.

“Now that the Senate has done its job, the House should do the same and move on KOSA and COPPA right away when they return,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, R-N.Y., said Tuesday during a news conference with the bills' authors: Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Ed Markey, D-Mass.; and Bill Cassidy, R-La.

Rodgers previously canceled a June markup for KOSA and her bipartisan, comprehensive privacy bill, which included language from COPPA 2.0. The executive session was scrapped amid tension with Republican leaders over the American Privacy Rights Act (see 2406270046). House Innovation Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., co-authored the KOSA companion bill with Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., and Castor led the introduction of COPPA 2.0 with Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich.

Social media has “become a tool for predators and other people who target children,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. This has led to everything from cyberbullying and suicide to sexual assault, he added. “I think it’s long overdue to begin to try to figure out some way to curtail that while maintaining the availability [of the internet] for other legitimate purposes.”

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told us he “certainly hope[s]” House Republican leadership will move the bills. “They’re passing overwhelmingly in the Senate,” he said. “They take an important step forward in protecting kids online, and I’m confident we’ll see the House take them up and pass them.”

Wyden has repeatedly called attention to KOSA censorship concerns, its potential impact on social media content geared toward LGBTQ audiences and issues about the legislation weakening encryption standards.

Fight for the Future, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation on Tuesday co-hosted a news conference where they opposed the legislation. “I think some of this is just based on hoping or believing that the enforcement of a speech law will be done by the good guys,” Joe Mullin, EFF senior policy analyst, said. “And we've just never seen that be the case. And that's why it's better to stick by our First Amendment values.” Separately, NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo said that “lawmakers must recognize that an unconstitutional law will help no one.”

The Entertainment Software Association issued a statement saying it wants to work with bill authors to ensure the final version of KOSA “reflects the pioneering online safety innovations developed by our industry.” ESA shares the goal of protecting kids online, it said.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., celebrated passage of the two bills. Together they “give parents new tools to protect their kids online, hold social media companies accountable for harm, require consent before data can be collected and ban targeted advertising to kids under 17,” she said. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., welcomed passage and said he will continue pushing for support for his Judiciary-approved legislation, the Stop Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment (Stop CSAM) Act (see 2403060043).

The Parents Television and Media Council and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation welcomed the bills' passage. KOSA redirects “social media platforms’ focus from a duty of profit -- exploiting children’s developmental vulnerabilities -- to a duty of care, protecting children’s safety and wellbeing,” NCOSE CEO Dawn Hawkins said.