House Panel Unveils 12-Bill Kids Safety Deal as Senate Rejects Missing Duty-of-Care Rule
Updated
Updated · Baltimore Sun · Jun 23
House Panel Unveils 12-Bill Kids Safety Deal as Senate Rejects Missing Duty-of-Care Rule
3 articles · Updated · Baltimore Sun · Jun 23
Summary
More than a dozen proposals were folded into the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, a House Energy and Commerce compromise meant to revive stalled child online-safety legislation.
The package would require age verification on sexually explicit sites, ban minors from disappearing messages, force AI chatbots to tell children they are not human, and set default app safety settings for minors.
The deal leaves out a duty-of-care requirement that Senate backers of the Kids Online Safety Act consider central, prompting Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal to call the House version unacceptable.
Any House passage would still need reconciliation with the Senate's KOSA, which cleared the chamber with broad bipartisan support last Congress but died in the House.
The renewed push comes as social media companies face investigations, lawsuits and bipartisan pressure over allegations they failed to protect children online.