Recently Congress have put the debate of passages included in the laws for children online safety. Such as the Kid’s Online Safety act (KOSA). The bill includes 19 different laws, most of them being put in place to ensure the main goal of this act. Online children safety. KOSA emerged back in 2022 when Facebook was exposed for having an awareness to the harmful effects from their platform. News reports and accounts such as the Wall Street Journal had proved negative relations involving teens and Instagram. And soon, many other platforms have been noted of having loose protection. This led to the investigation of Big Tech for its lack of security and safety. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn had introduced the bill to congress in hopes of enabling restrictions. But in 2023 it had failed.
Over the years there have been a rise of minors continuously harmed from platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. Parents from families across the world had shared their stories about how they lost daughters and sons. Due to the lack of supervision and harmful content through social media platforms, many fell victim to this. Some of the parents argue that this new act wouldn’t be enough because it takes off the care requirement. As well as KOSA facing a possibility of being denied due to certain violations. This bill had also faced opposition from BigTech and democrats following their concerns for censoring socially relevant topics such as abortions, LGBTQ, racism, and other discussions. In the past many states have attempted to pass bills that would contribute to online safety, but almost all of them were turned away. “Laws with good intentions have been struck down for violating the First amendment,” according to the subcommittee chair Gus Bilirakis, who came with an easy approach to the situation. KOSA has been favored by many republicans, but democrats have proposed the act to be weak and unsustain.
Earlier in congress, Bilirakis had sponsored Marsha Blackburn’s version of KOSA, which included the duty-of-care. There was no floor vote and the bill would require types of designs for the act to be proven successful. Such as preventing harmful media like: physical violence, cyberbullying, eating disorders, substances abuse, sexual exploitation, suicide, depression/anxiety, financial harms, and drug sales. The version had possibly been denied also due to a violation of the First Amendment. Rooting from the District of California blocking enforcement of age-appropriate systems, meant to harbor free speech. Amy Bos, vice president of government affairs for NetChoice supported some aspects of the bill, but also seen it “deeply flawed” based on the standards and alteration with the language
KOSA hadn’t been the only bill trying to pass in legislation. A similar act passed back in 1998, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was set to be re-vamped in COPPA 2.0. This bill was meant to enable privacy protections from ages 13-16. With new safety upgrades it was also sent to congress in 2022, and unanimously passed. Although the senate’s version was more favorable, the KOSA bill earned recognition with bipartisan support. With the failures of KOSA, including the ongoing pending and early issues, it merged with COPPA in July of 2024. Creating the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOPSA), this new version was introduced to congress on November 15th, 2025.
Congress still talks on the new additions and verification methods described in these sections. More lives may be rescued with the less access to Ai, but this is just the beginning to a new internet community. Ensuring that as a citizen, student, or family member, that you prevent some of these online dangers. It’s important to be nice at all times, and if someone you know is going through these abuses, to inform a trusted adult. Be sure to stay informed of the changes, as the world is shifting into a more technological society.
