The US Senate passed legislation on Tuesday (July 30) with an overwhelming majority, requiring protection for children from harmful online content and holding technology companies more accountable for the damage caused to minors by their social media platforms.
On Tuesday, the Senate approved this comprehensive legislation by a vote of 91 to 3. The package consists of two key bills, one being the “Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act” (COPPA 2.0) and the other the “Kids Online Safety Act” (KOSA), both aimed at safeguarding children online.
The “Kids Online Safety Act” mandates social media platforms to provide protective measures for minors, including limiting access to minors’ personal data and enabling parents to supervise their children’s use of these platforms through privacy and account settings control. The bill also requires tech companies to restrict features that encourage children and teens to spend more time on social media platforms and prohibits showing advertisements containing drugs, tobacco products, gambling, or alcohol to underage users.
The “Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act” amends the 1998 “Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act” (COPPA) and is thus known as COPPA 2.0. This law aims to enhance protection for children and teens in terms of online collection, use, and disclosure of personal information, and prohibits targeted advertising to minors.
COPPA 2.0 also prohibits social media platforms from collecting the personal data of users under 17 without their consent, whereas the initial legislation set the age at 13.
For this legislation to become law, it must also pass in the House of Representatives and be signed by the President. The House went into recess last week and is set to reconvene in early September.
It remains unclear whether the House will vote on this legislation, but Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed openness to these measures.
President Biden has urged the House to approve the bill promptly and get it to his desk to sign into law without delay.
This legislation was driven by parents of children harmed by online content, aiming to compel tech companies to take reasonable measures to prevent minors from being harmed on frequently used online platforms.
As this legislation passed in the Senate, a national debate on the impacts of children’s use of social media is ongoing. It is expected that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), major tech companies controlling social media platforms, and some tech advocacy organizations will oppose the legislation, arguing that it may infringe upon the First Amendment protecting freedom of speech in the US Constitution and claiming these legislative measures hinder children and teens from accessing vital resources.