House Committee Scores Bipartisan Deal on Kids Online Safety

Lawmakers on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee announced a bipartisan agreement on Monday, June 22, to advance a comprehensive legislative package aimed at protecting children and teenagers from online harms. The deal, reached by committee chairman Brett Guthrie, a Republican from Kentucky, and ranking Democrat Frank Pallone of New Jersey, unifies more than a dozen previously introduced bills into a single framework called the Kids Internet and Digital Safety, or KIDS, Act.

The agreement marks a breakthrough after months of negotiations and follows a partisan committee vote on an earlier version of the legislation in March. The updated package seeks to establish federal minimum standards for online safety, which would override any state laws that do not meet that level, though states could enact stronger restrictions. The finalized text of the bill is expected this week, with a potential House floor vote before the Fourth of July recess.

Central to the package is the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, which aims to create safeguards for users under 17. The legislation would incorporate provisions from 14 different bills, mandating age verification for explicit websites,...