House passes kids online safety bill; Senate stall looms

House passes – The House passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act on June 29 by a 267-117 vote, pushing stronger rules on how tech platforms handle children. But in the Senate, key lawmakers and advocates say the House version doesn’t go far enough—especially after it

WASHINGTON — By the time the House voted Monday, June 29, the message was clear: Congress is ready to press tech companies to do more to protect children online.

The House of Representatives approved the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS) by a wide margin, 267-117. The bill is the latest step in a yearslong effort to rein in social media companies’ interactions with children. and it now sets up a high-stakes showdown over how far federal rules should reach.

Rep. Brett Guthrie. R-Kentucky. who chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. called the bill “the most comprehensive. impactful children’s online safety package Congress has considered.” In remarks tied to its passage. he said. “Technology companies must be held accountable when they fail to protect young users. ” adding that “Children deserve a safer online experience.”.

The House bill gives parents new tools to manage their children’s online experiences, supporters said. It would establish safeguards for AI chatbots. ban advertising targeted to minors. and limit the unnecessary collection of children’s data. It also includes age verification measures for sexually explicit content such as pornography.

But the Senate’s reaction shows how quickly that momentum can fade. Several senators and advocates argue that the House version falls short of an earlier, nearly unanimous Senate-passed bill from 2024. At the center of the dispute is what the House bill does not include.

Supporters of the earlier Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) point to a “duty of care” provision that was previously passed in the Senate. That measure, advocates and lawmakers said, would have regulated online design features intended to protect children from harmful elements of platform technology.

Backers of the House approach said the omission was intentional. Yet civil liberties advocates have warned that a “duty of care” provision could also lead to censorship of free speech.

Senate Democrats. including Maria Cantwell of Washington state. said the Senate will not get a full answer simply by swapping the policy details. She called the House package “essential” and argued the House version “has gutted many of the key provisions in the Senate bill necessary to protect kids and their families.”.

In a statement last week, Cantwell said the bill is grouped with other measures she believes also fall short, while adding many studies “at a time when our government needs to do more than just study this problem.”

Not all Democrats in the House are portraying the bill as perfect. On the floor June 29. multiple House Democrats—including Frank Pallone of New Jersey. Jennifer McClellan of Virginia. and Lori Trahan of Massachusetts—acknowledged criticisms while arguing Congress should act sooner rather than later.

Trahan said, “This bill doesn’t solve every problem,” but added that it “makes one heck of dent.”

Even with bipartisan momentum in the House, the path to final passage is likely to be difficult. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has thrown his support behind the stricter KOSA version—signaling he wants to move forward on that track.

As the debate shifts, Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Florida, said the Senate will have to reconcile competing approaches “on different tracks.” Her view distilled what comes next: “The ball is going to be in their court now.”

A defining question for lawmakers now is whether the Senate treats the House bill as a workable starting point—or whether it demands a return to the “duty of care” framework that supporters say is necessary to meaningfully protect kids and families.

With midterm elections looming, the final shape of federal online safety rules could become one of the defining Capitol Hill battles ahead of voters—less about whether Congress will act, and more about exactly what kind of protection it is willing to require.

KIDS bill Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act online safety social media regulation Senate KOSA duty of care AI chatbots age verification targeted advertising children online privacy