The Senate has overcome procedural obstacles for two bills aimed at safeguarding children’s safety and privacy online, paving the way for a floor vote with guaranteed passage next Tuesday.
The new legislation updates a long-standing law to protect children’s safety on the internet. The rules for the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) were put into effect in 2000, four years before the creation of Facebook.
One of the bills, COPPA 2.0, expands the age limit for protected minors from 13 to 16 and requires social media platforms to obtain consent from users aged 13 to 16 before collecting their personal information. It also prohibits advertising targeting children and teens.
The other bill, known as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), mandates that social media companies take steps to prevent the dissemination of harmful content related to suicide, eating disorders, bullying, and drugs.
Specifically, KOSA addresses tech companies’ algorithms for content consumption, requiring them to allow minors to limit recommendations or opt-out of personalized recommendation systems that enable infinite scrolling.
Senator Rand Paul was the sole dissenting vote, citing concerns that KOSA was too broad and would lead to excessive self-censorship by social media platforms. He expressed worries about the creation of a Kids Online Safety Council that he viewed as “speech police.”
The legislation comes at a time when parents are increasingly concerned about their children’s safety online. Last year, the Biden administration established an inter-agency task force to address youth mental health, safety, and privacy online.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has issued advisories warning about the negative impact of excessive social media use on mental health. He has advocated for warning labels on social media platforms similar to those on tobacco products.
If passed, the bills will be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. The House Energy and Commerce Committee still needs to advance the legislation in the lower chamber. Please rephrase this sentence.
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