The KIDS Act: How Congress Is Taking on Online Predators and Big Tech

Congress took a major step forward this summer when the House passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act — the KIDS Act — a sweeping package of online safety legislation aimed at protecting children from predators, harmful content, and exploitative platforms.

The KIDS Act passed the House in late June with a bipartisan 267-117 vote. It combines more than a dozen child safety bills into one package, including the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and an updated Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). Together, these bills would require online platforms to implement stronger safety measures for minors.

Key provisions in the legislation include:

Default safety settings. Social media platforms would be required to set minors’ accounts to the strongest privacy and safety settings by default. That means stricter control over who can contact them and what content they see out of the box.

Parental control tools. Parents would get new tools to monitor their child’s account settings, restrict purchases, control messaging features, and receive notifications when their child gets a first-time message from an unknown user.

AI chatbot safeguards. Platforms would need to implement safeguards for minors interacting with AI chatbots — including disclosing that the chatbot isn’t a real person.

Ban on targeted advertising to minors. The bill would prohibit platforms from collecting and using children’s data for targeted advertising. It also limits unnecessary data collection and requires data brokers that sell minors’ data to register with the FTC.

Messaging restrictions for young children. Private messaging for children under 13 would be blocked. Teens under 17 would lose disappearing message features, giving parents better visibility into their child’s online communications.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where negotiations continue over the “duty of care” standard — a legal requirement that would force platforms to proactively prevent harms to minors. The House version left this out, drawing criticism from some Senate sponsors who argue the bill is weaker without it.

This legislation matters because online predators thrive in environments where platforms design for engagement over safety. When messaging is unrestricted, data collection is unchecked, and parental tools are optional, predators have more opportunities to find and groom victims. The KIDS Act would change that equation.

If you or someone you know has been targeted by an online predator, report it here. You can also install the Report a Pedophile browser plugin to help identify and report predatory content while you browse.

Source: USA Today — House passes kids online safety bill, but Senate isn’t sold on it