Technology

The Big Story

Deep divides plague kids safety push in House

A push by House lawmakers to advance kids online safety legislation is facing partisan divisions and pushback from key advocates that could spell trouble for the effort, which has struggled to get across the finish line in recent years.

This dynamic was on display Tuesday as the House Energy and Commerce Committee weighed a slate of 19 bills, with Democratic lawmakers voicing concerns that key legislation has been watered down — echoing frustrations from parent advocates.

The debate centers on revisions to the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), the crown jewel of the proposed package of bills, which aims to create guardrails to protect kids from online harms.

The new version of KOSA, unveiled last week by Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, removes the bill's controversial "duty of care" provision that required platforms to "exercise reasonable care" to prevent harms to minors.

The move seeks to address First Amendment concerns that derailed the legislation in the House last Congress, but could cost the support of Big Tech critics.

"This committee knows too well that the Big Tech companies take advantage of young people online," Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) said at Tuesday's hearing.

"That is why it's so disappointing that Republicans in the House are offering weak, ineffectual versions of [the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act] and KOSA."

"These versions are a gift to Big Tech companies, and they are a slap in the face to the parents, the experts and the advocates, to bipartisan members of Congress who worked long and hard on strong child protection bills," she continued.

KOSA, which has been introduced several times in recent years, appeared to be gaining momentum last year after clearing the Senate in a 91-3 vote and advancing out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

However, the bill hit a wall with House GOP leadership over free speech concerns.

In a last-ditch effort to get the measure across the finish line, its Senate co-sponsors, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), unveiled changes negotiated with Elon Musk's social platform X.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) ultimately threw cold water on the effort, saying he still had concerns with the bill.

Check out the full report at TheHill.com tomorrow.

Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, I'm Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

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