In a rare bipartisan breakthrough, the House passed a sweeping kids online safety package this week, but the legislation faces significant obstacles in the Senate where key Democrats and Republicans are demanding inclusion of a provision they say is essential to protecting minors from social media harm.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Monday announced a deal on the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act), which includes the landmark Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) along with portions of 13 other bills addressing age verification, AI chatbots, data protections and awareness about drug sales on social media platforms. The package passed the House in a bipartisan vote.
The central dispute centers on whether to include a "duty of care" provision that would legally require social media platforms to exercise reasonable care to prevent harms to minors, including suicide, substance use disorders and sexual exploitation. The Senate version includes this language; the House version does not.
What the Left Is Saying
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a co-author of KOSA alongside Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), said at an event marking Social Media Harm Victims Remembrance Day that removing duty of care is unacceptable to Senate negotiators. "If my colleagues are serious, they're going to reject laws that eliminate the duty of care," Blumenthal said. "Nothing complicated about the duty of care... if you make a defective toaster and it blows up in someone's home, they're liable."
The Connecticut Democrat expressed skepticism about broader package negotiations involving AI preemption language, saying he is concerned about maintaining KOSA's integrity as a protection system for children online.
Progressive tech watchdog groups echoed these concerns. The grassroots organization Parents Rise issued a statement saying: "We have been very clear that we will not accept any kids' online safety bill without a duty of care, or one that offers Big Tech an escape hatch from existing state laws."
Blumenthal has previously opposed proposals for a moratorium on state AI regulation, stating at the time that "states have been on the frontline against election deepfakes and other AI abuses."
What the Right Is Saying
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the Republican co-author of KOSA, has made clear that duty of care is a nonstarter without Senate approval. Her office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but she has consistently supported the provision in negotiations.
House Republicans who backed the KIDS Act argued the package strikes necessary balances on free speech concerns that previously blocked previous attempts to advance KOSA through the House. Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, noted the compromise nature of the legislation.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, told reporters at the Capitol that he expects the Senate version of KOSA will be on the next committee markup on kids safety. "Those negotiations are ongoing," he said.
Jon Schweppe, a senior adviser at Americans Principles Project and former senior adviser at the Federal Trade Commission until earlier this year, said House passage represents progress but acknowledged Senate dynamics may differ. "You get something out of chamber there, Senate politics are going to be what they are," he said.
What the Numbers Show
KOSA has been introduced four times in as many years without becoming law. The bill passed the Senate easily in 2024 with bipartisan support, but House Republicans blocked it from reaching the floor over concerns about censorship and freedom of speech.
The White House held two meetings this month with a handful of tech and policy organizations to discuss package negotiations that could include preemption language on state AI laws, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. Attendees included representatives from the Heritage Foundation, RAINN, Bull Moose Project, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, Digital Childhood Alliance, American Principles Project and America First Policy Institute.
The App Store Accountability Act, which would require age verification for access to app stores and parental consent for users under 18, is also being discussed as part of potential Senate negotiations. Blackburn's No Fakes Act, a bill protecting artists from AI impersonation, could be included in any final package.
The Bottom Line
The path forward for kids online safety legislation remains uncertain despite House passage. The fundamental disagreement over duty of care creates a significant hurdle that both chambers must resolve before any compromise reaches the president's desk. White House involvement suggests executive branch interest in seeing some form of legislation pass, but the scope of AI preemption language and whether it will satisfy all stakeholders remains unclear. Watch for upcoming Senate Commerce Committee markup discussions as an early indicator of whether negotiators can bridge the gap between chamber versions.