House Passes Rep. Miller’s SCREEN Act as Part of Child Online Safety Package

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed theKids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS)Act, a comprehensive legislative package to strengthen online protections for children. The package includes Congresswoman Mary Miller's Shielding Children's Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN)Act.

The SCREEN Act establishes a national age-verification requirement for commercial websites that distribute obscene material online.

"Today's internet has made explicit sexual content more accessible than ever before, and the House took an important step today to protect America's children," said Congresswoman Miller. "This is a major victory for parents and families across America. I'm grateful to Chairman Guthrie for advancing my legislation as part of the KIDS Act and for taking a stand to restore accountability online."

Nearly 80 percent of American children are exposed to pornography before reaching adulthood, with research linking early exposure to anxiety, depression, addiction, low self-esteem, distorted views of relationships, and other harmful developmental outcomes.

The legislation follows the Supreme Court's decision upholding Texas' age-verification law, affirming that protecting children from online obscene material with age-verification requirements is constitutional.

Background:
Congresswoman Miller first introduced the House version of the SCREEN Act in the 118th Congress, with Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) leading the companion Senate bill. Both reintroduced the legislation in the 119th Congress, where it has now passed the House as part of the KIDS Act and heads to the Senate.