Senate kickstarts effort to protect kids online, curb content on violence, bullying and drug use

WASHINGTON – The Senate will kickstart work on two bipartisan bills this week aimed at improving kids and teens' safety on social media, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Tuesday.

The push comes during a contentious election year – a time when little policy usually advances. But these bills have support from a wide range of Democrats and Republicans, and, at the moment, appear likely to get enough votes to pass in the upper chamber.

The two bills – the Kid's Online Safety Act (also known as KOSA) and the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (dubbed COPPA 2.0) – would mark the first significant legislation to protect young people on the internet since the first version of COPPA, or the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, passed in 1998.

That legislation was originally designed to protect children under the age of 13, covering issues ranging from privacy policies to parental consent online and more. But it was passed and implemented before many children across the country had access to smartphones and social media platforms.

"I am proud to work side-by-side with (parent advocates) and put on the floor legislation that I believe will pass and better protect our children from the negative risks of social media and other online platforms," Schumer said in a statement Tuesday. "It has been long and daunting road to get this bill passed, which can change and save lives, but today, we are one monumental step closer to success."

Here's what you need to know about the bills and how they would impact minors' lives online.

What would these bills do?

The Kids Online Safety Act would require social media companies to show that they are taking "reasonable measures" to protect minors from harms online. That includes content that promotes suicide, violence, bullying, eating disorders, sexual abuse, drug use and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

It would also give minors the option to turn off features that encourage "addiction-like" use of the platform and algorithm-based content recommendations. Many of the most popular social media platforms are set up to feed users more of what they interact with, not just all content shared to a site or app.

The other bill, COPPA 2.0, would update the 1998 version of the law to ban targeted ads for minors, extend privacy protections to users between the ages of 13 and 16, and give parents the ability to delete their kids' personal information from platforms.

Why do the bills' supporters say they are necessary?

Parent advocates who have lost children, including those whose kids have died by suicide after online bullying or buying drugs through social media, have been pushing lawmakers to move on the legal changes for years.

Nonprofits and other advocacy groups have also supported KOSA, such as the American Federation of Teachers and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Some tech companies, including Microsoft, X and Snap, have also said they support it.

Meta – the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – has not said it supports or opposes the bills. USA TODAY has reached out to TikTok for additional information.

What has prevented passage in the past?

LGBTQ groups raised concerns that a previous version of KOSA could be used by certain state attorneys general to censor information about gender and sexuality. The bill was changed to give the Federal Trade Commission the power to enforce the main provisions of the bill on a national level, while allowing state AGs to enforce other parts of it.

Other roadblocks have included concerns over conflicts with state and local laws on Americans' rights online and arguments that passing a children's privacy bill would prevent passage of a broader online privacy bill, an effort that has been on lawmakers' to-do lists for years.

Some free speech groups still oppose the bill over First Amendment concerns, including the American Civil Liberties Union.

Will the bills pass this time?

Both bills have support from bipartisan groups of senators. Schumer's decision to bring it up on the floor indicates it stands a real chance of getting the 60 votes necessary to clear the bar in the Senate known as the filibuster and reach final passage.

"With new changes to strengthen the bill and growing support, we should seize this moment to take action," said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. in a statement on the Kids Online Safety Act earlier this year. "We must listen to the kids, parents, experts, and advocates, and finally hold Big Tech accountable by passing the Kids Online Safety Act into law."

It's unclear whether it has the same level of support in the House, where committee consideration of the lower chamber's version of the bills had stalled. However, once legislation passes through one chamber, it can give advocates leverage to pressure the other chamber to take action.