Schumer calls on U.S. House to immediately pass the ‘Kids Online Safety’ and ‘Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection’ Acts

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer today called on the U.S. House of Representatives to stop delays and immediately pass the ‘Kids Online Safety Act’ and the ‘Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act.’

“With our kids spending more and more of their lives online, ensuring their safety in today’s world means that ensuring their online safety is more important than ever, as we work to protect kids from rampant online bullying, exploitation and other risks to their mental health, social wellbeing and academic success. I’ve met with countless families from New York, including right here in Central NY and the North Country, and across the United States who have endured unimaginable pain and who are fighting to make sure what happened to their child doesn't happen to others. The Senate acted, and working with these parents, teachers, and advocates, passed legislation to put our children first and protect them from the dangers of the internet and social media. Now, it’s time for the House to do its job and pass these bills ASAP to protect our children online,” said Senator Schumer.

“KOSA and COPPA 2.0 will perhaps be the most important updates to federal laws protecting kids on the internet in decades, helping ban targeted advertising aimed at kids, providing kids and parents with tools to protect their data, giving families more options to manage and disconnect from online platforms, and more. The House must stop delays and pass the landmark bipartisan bills the Senate passed earlier this summer immediately to keep our kids safe. This legislation would do so much good for millions of families across the country, and the overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate shows it is ready to come for a vote in the House as soon as they return.”

According to Schumer’s Office, these bipartisan bills represent some of the most robust federal tech reforms for children in decades, and will institute a set of safeguards, accountability, and privacy measures that shield children in New York and across the country from the harms associated with social media companies and other online platforms.

With reported delays in the House of Representatives, Schumer says the Senate versions passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) will create more requirements for platforms to create a safe online environment for kids and teens. The bipartisan bill will:

• Require platforms to give kids and teens the option to protect their data and opt out of algorithmic recommendations.
• Allow parents to control how their kids’ information is used and require platforms to create a dedicated channel to report harmful behavior.
• Obligate platforms to prevent and mitigate dangers to minors by limiting the promotion of harmful behavior such as suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, and sexual exploitation.
• Require independent audits to research how social media platforms impact kids’ and teens’ mental health and well-being.
• Fosters research regarding harms to the online safety of minors by requiring the National Academies to study the impact of social media on youth.

The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) strengthens online privacy protections for kids and teens. The bipartisan bill builds on the original Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act signed into law in 1998 which created protections for children under the age of 13, and will:

• Prohibit internet companies from collecting data from users under the age of 17 without their consent, increasing the age from COPPA’s legislation.
• Ban advertising that targets kids and teens.
• Revise the requirement established in COPPA that obligates platforms to protect kids and teens if they have “actual knowledge” of their age, instead covering all platforms that are “reasonably likely to be used” by kids and teens.
• Require companies to allow the deletion of data for kids and teens when possible by creating an “eraser button.”

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer image.