Congress Advances Package to Protect Children Online
Mar 12, 2026 by FACT
Last week, the US House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced three pieces of legislation aimed at protecting children online. The central measure, the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, has been described as “the most serious, comprehensive piece of legislation to address online safety to date,” and incorporates provisions from the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), the SCREEN Act, the Safe Messaging for Kids Act, the SPY Kids Act, the Safer GAMING Act, and the SAFE BOTs Act.
Collectively, the omnibus bill “addresses a range of online dangers facing children, including shielding minors from obscene content, strengthening parental controls, barring minors from using self-deleting messaging features, prohibiting targeted market research on children, and establishing safeguards for online gaming platforms.”
This effort is both necessary and long overdue.
In February, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a bipartisan coalition of 40 attorneys general urging Congress to pass KOSA, which would require social media platforms to take stronger steps to protect minors online by reducing harmful and addictive features and giving parents more oversight.
“We recognize the serious and growing threats that social media platforms pose to minors. Many social media platforms deliberately target minors, fueling a nationwide youth mental health crisis,” the letter stated. “These platforms are intentionally designed to be addictive, particularly for underaged users, and generate substantial profits by monetizing minors’ personal data through targeted advertising. These companies fail to adequately disclose the addictive nature of their products or the well-documented harms associated with excessive social media use. Increasing evidence demonstrates that these companies are aware of the adverse mental health consequences imposed on underage users, yet they have chosen to persist in these practices. Accordingly, many of our Offices have initiated investigations and filed lawsuits against Meta and TikTok for their role in harming minors.”
When 40 attorneys general, including some from the nation’s most left-leaning states such as Hawaii and California, can agree on a single piece of legislation, it signals that a real problem exists and that an effective solution is within reach.
“States are often the first to see the real-world consequences when powerful technology platforms fail to put kids’ safety first,” Attorney General Skrmetti stated. “Congress should not tie the hands of state lawmakers and law enforcement who are actively working to protect children from addictive and harmful online design features. The Senate’s approach gets this balance right by setting strong national standards while respecting states’ ability to act when new threats emerge.”
The committee also advanced two AI-regulation bills championed by Indiana Rep. Erin Houchin as part of the broader KIDS package:
Parents will always bear the primary responsibility for overseeing their children’s online activity. These legislative efforts are meant to simultaneously hold Big Tech accountable while giving parents the tools and resources they need to better understand and navigate the digital spaces their children have access to.
“Protecting kids online is one of the most urgent challenges we face in today’s digital age. Without these reforms, parents are outmatched by new technology powered by Big Tech,” Rep. Houchin shared. “Parents and kids deserve an internet ecosystem that puts their safety and well-being first with parents clearly in the driver’s seat.”
Collectively, the omnibus bill “addresses a range of online dangers facing children, including shielding minors from obscene content, strengthening parental controls, barring minors from using self-deleting messaging features, prohibiting targeted market research on children, and establishing safeguards for online gaming platforms.”
This effort is both necessary and long overdue.
In February, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a bipartisan coalition of 40 attorneys general urging Congress to pass KOSA, which would require social media platforms to take stronger steps to protect minors online by reducing harmful and addictive features and giving parents more oversight.
“We recognize the serious and growing threats that social media platforms pose to minors. Many social media platforms deliberately target minors, fueling a nationwide youth mental health crisis,” the letter stated. “These platforms are intentionally designed to be addictive, particularly for underaged users, and generate substantial profits by monetizing minors’ personal data through targeted advertising. These companies fail to adequately disclose the addictive nature of their products or the well-documented harms associated with excessive social media use. Increasing evidence demonstrates that these companies are aware of the adverse mental health consequences imposed on underage users, yet they have chosen to persist in these practices. Accordingly, many of our Offices have initiated investigations and filed lawsuits against Meta and TikTok for their role in harming minors.”
When 40 attorneys general, including some from the nation’s most left-leaning states such as Hawaii and California, can agree on a single piece of legislation, it signals that a real problem exists and that an effective solution is within reach.
“States are often the first to see the real-world consequences when powerful technology platforms fail to put kids’ safety first,” Attorney General Skrmetti stated. “Congress should not tie the hands of state lawmakers and law enforcement who are actively working to protect children from addictive and harmful online design features. The Senate’s approach gets this balance right by setting strong national standards while respecting states’ ability to act when new threats emerge.”
The committee also advanced two AI-regulation bills championed by Indiana Rep. Erin Houchin as part of the broader KIDS package:
The AI Warnings and Resources for Education (AWARE) Act directs the Federal Trade Commission to develop publicly available educational resources for parents, educators, and minors on the risks and benefits of AI chatbot use, privacy and data collection practices, and best practices for keeping children safe when interacting with AI.
Her Safeguarding Adolescents From Exploitative BOTs Act, known as the SAFE BOTs Act, H.R. 6489, builds on that framework by requiring chatbot providers to clearly disclose to minors when they are interacting with an AI system rather than a real person. The bill prohibits AI chatbots from falsely claiming to be licensed professionals such as doctors or therapists, mandates that crisis hotline information be provided when a minor raises the topic of suicide or self-harm, and requires break prompts after extended chatbot sessions. It also requires reasonable policies to prevent minors from accessing sexual content, gambling, and illegal substances through AI chatbot platforms.
Her Safeguarding Adolescents From Exploitative BOTs Act, known as the SAFE BOTs Act, H.R. 6489, builds on that framework by requiring chatbot providers to clearly disclose to minors when they are interacting with an AI system rather than a real person. The bill prohibits AI chatbots from falsely claiming to be licensed professionals such as doctors or therapists, mandates that crisis hotline information be provided when a minor raises the topic of suicide or self-harm, and requires break prompts after extended chatbot sessions. It also requires reasonable policies to prevent minors from accessing sexual content, gambling, and illegal substances through AI chatbot platforms.
Parents will always bear the primary responsibility for overseeing their children’s online activity. These legislative efforts are meant to simultaneously hold Big Tech accountable while giving parents the tools and resources they need to better understand and navigate the digital spaces their children have access to.
“Protecting kids online is one of the most urgent challenges we face in today’s digital age. Without these reforms, parents are outmatched by new technology powered by Big Tech,” Rep. Houchin shared. “Parents and kids deserve an internet ecosystem that puts their safety and well-being first with parents clearly in the driver’s seat.”
