US Lawmakers Reach Bipartisan Deal on Child Online Safety Bill

June 23, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

Senior lawmakers on the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce have reached a bipartisan agreement on sweeping legislation aimed at strengthening online protections for children and teenagers, marking a significant step in Congress's efforts to regulate digital platforms.

Congressman Brett Guthrie, the committee's Republican chairman, and Congressman Frank Pallone Jr., the panel's top Democrat, announced an agreement on the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, a package that combines provisions from several child safety, privacy and online accountability proposals introduced in recent years.

The legislation seeks to strengthen parental controls, increase privacy protections for minors, improve transparency around data collection practices and impose additional obligations on technology companies operating online platforms used by children and teenagers.

"Coming into this Congress, we knew that protecting children and teens online would be one of the most significant challenges this committee would have to address," Guthrie and Pallone said in a joint statement.

The lawmakers said the bill would establish stronger safeguards by requiring safety features to be built into online services, expanding parental tools and increasing accountability for large technology companies.

The agreement reflects growing bipartisan concern in Washington over the influence of social media platforms, online gaming services and digital applications on young users. Lawmakers from both parties have increasingly scrutinised how technology companies collect data, design recommendation algorithms and moderate content accessed by minors.

The KIDS Act incorporates provisions from a broad range of previously proposed legislation, including the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, commonly known as COPPA 2.0, the Safe Social Media Act and measures targeting online drug trafficking, automated bots and data broker transparency.

Supporters of the legislation argue that existing online safety and privacy laws have failed to keep pace with the rapid evolution of digital platforms and the growing amount of time children spend online.

The bipartisan agreement could improve the bill's prospects in Congress, where previous efforts to pass comprehensive child online safety legislation have faced political and industry opposition despite widespread public support.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to consider the legislation as lawmakers continue broader debates over technology regulation, privacy protections and platform accountability in the United States.

Source: FSX Business News