House Passes Online Safety Bill as Senate Eyes Stricter Push

The House passed the KIDS Act, requiring online platforms to limit minors' access to sexual material, provide parental controls, and mandate age verification, but the Senate seeks stricter measures imposing a legal duty on tech companies to prevent harm to children. The bill, passed 267-117, also requires AI chatbots to disclose they are not human and provide suicide prevention resources. The legislation marks progress after years of deadlock amid public scrutiny over social media's impact on children's mental health.

Bloomberg -- The House on Monday passed legislation to require new online safety protections for children, a sign of growing momentum in Washington to address a widespread concern among US parents even as the measure sets up a clash with senators seeking stronger safeguards. Most Read from Bloomberg - Trump's U-Turn on Iran Sanctions Would Unravel Decades of Curbs https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-28/trump-s-u-turn-on-iran-sanctions-would-unravel-decades-of-curbs?utm campaign=bn&utm medium=distro&utm source=yahooUS - US Stocks Get Tech Boost After AI-Fueled Selloff: Markets Wrap https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-28/us-futures-climb-on-reports-peace-talks-to-resume-markets-wrap?utm campaign=bn&utm medium=distro&utm source=yahooUS - Supreme Court Leaves Trump's Fed, Citizenship Gambits for Last https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-28/supreme-court-leaves-trump-s-fed-citizenship-gambits-for-last?utm campaign=bn&utm medium=distro&utm source=yahooUS - Yen Hits Four-Decade Low in Historic Slide That's Rattled Japan https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-29/yen-jpy-usd-hits-four-decade-low-in-historic-slide-that-s-rattled-japan?utm campaign=bn&utm medium=distro&utm source=yahooUS The House-passed legislation stops short of demands in the Senate to impose a legal requirement on tech companies, such as Meta Platforms Inc., TikTok Inc., and Snap Inc., to "exercise reasonable care" to prevent harms to minors. Republican and Democratic senators last week derided the House effort as inadequate. The House's so-called KIDS Act, passed 267-117, requires online platforms to limit minors' access to sexual material, including through mandatory age verification for pornography websites, and provide parental controls on social media and online video game platforms. Artificial intelligence chatbots would also have to disclose that they are not human to users who identify themselves as minors and provide suicide prevention resources to children who show signs they are considering suicide. It would also require social media companies to create default settings for minors that limit addictive design features and provide parents with tools to manage their child's privacy settings. The congressional action, after years of deadlock on the issue, comes as social media companies are under immense public scrutiny over concerns that their products are harming children and their mental health through addictive algorithms and dangerous content. "While no single bill will solve every challenge facing families online, this legislation represents a significant and long-overdue step forward in establishing meaningful safeguards," Representative Brett Guthrie, a Kentucky Republican, said. "It is an important milestone, not a finish line." A California jury in March found Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google liable for contributing to a young woman's mental health struggles in a landmark case that underscored the companies' potential multibillion-dollar exposure from lawsuits claiming social media platforms are designed to addict young users. Digital rights activists have opposed the KIDS Act, arguing it could require tech companies to collect excessive amounts of information about its users to verify their ages. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which supports free speech online, said the bill could drive social media companies to collect users driver's licenses or passports or use privacy-violating age estimation systems.