House panel prepares to take up slate of bills for kids online safety

House version of Kids Online Safety Act ruffles Blumenthal, parents

The latest version of the Kids Online Safety Act in the U.S. House is facing new opposition, this time from some parent advocate groups and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who is a co-author of the Senate bill. Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee removed a core part of the Senate bill: the “duty of care” section, which would require companies to “exercise reasonable care” when designing a platform to mitigate a defined list of p…

House online safety bills take narrower approach than Senate

House Republicans on Tuesday defended a slate of bills addressing online safety for children as a “durable” strategy that still protects First Amendment speech. Democrats, meanwhile, called the bills “weak, ineffectual” versions of previous legislation and expressed concerns about data privacy, including age verification requirements. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade held a hearing on a bill to requ…

Child Safety Advocates Push Congress to Pass the Kids Online Safety Act

JUMP TO… The Act First Amendment Concerns Supporters Congress must pass the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), child safety advocates say, so parents can better protect their children from sexual exploitation, addiction and myriad other online harms. The bill, which Senators Marsha Blackburn (TN) and Richard Blumenthal (CT) reintroduced in May, would hold social media companies legally responsible for harming minors. Platforms governed b…

Don’t Let Big Tech Hold America’s Kids Hostage

It appears the dam is finally breaking as Republicans in the House advance a package of child safety bills that bereaving and aggrieved parents have waited years for. The House Energy and Commerce Committee revealed 19 bills to be considered in a legislative hearing, among them a version of the Kids Online Safety Act. From a generation-defining mental health crisis, a sexual exploitation pandemic, and now AI chatbots that fuel suicidal ideation,…

House Panel Targets 19 Bills for Online Child Safety

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will take up a sweeping package of online child-safety bills next week, with a key subcommittee set to examine 19 proposals aimed at protecting children and teens on the internet.The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a Dec. 2 hearing titled "Legislative Solutions to Protect Children and Teens Online.""For too long, tech companies have failed to adequately protect children and tee…

House Panel Targets 19 Bills for Online Child Safety

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will take up a sweeping package of online child-safety bills next week, with a key subcommittee set to examine 19 proposals aimed at protecting children and teens on the internet.The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a Dec. 2 hearing titled "Legislative Solutions to Protect Children and Teens Online.""For too long, tech companies have failed to adequately protect children and tee…