Congresswoman Kim Schrier (WA-08) Votes for the KIDS Act

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Rep. Kim Schrier (WA-08), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, joined her colleagues in the House of Representatives to advance the KIDS Act. The KIDS Act is a bipartisan bill that takes historic steps to protect our kids and their data online and hold Big Tech accountable. The bill now heads to the Senate.

"As a mom, pediatrician, and member of Congress, passing legislation to protect kids online and hold Big Tech accountable has always been a top priority of mine," said Congresswoman Kim Schrier. "I've seen how social media companies have refused to put responsible guardrails on their platforms to keep our kids safe, and have seen the impacts on my patients. The passage of this package represents the first time in decades that the House has taken a step toward finally passing comprehensive legislation to achieve these goals."

"I'm continuing to call for a duty of care standard and language that goes further to hold social media companies accountable for the many harms their platforms are causing, including serious mental health issues like anxiety, depression, addiction, eating disorders, and suicidality. I look forward to working with the Senate to deliver an even more robust final package that will go further than what we have voted on today to help protect kids," Schrier continued.

The bipartisan agreement includes years of legislative work to protect children and teens online. The updated KIDS Act includes the following bills, including priorities Congresswoman Schrier has led and championed:

• Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA): Requires platforms to establish policies to prevent harms to minors and to provide specific safeguards and tools to minors and parents. Schrier has been a champion of this legislation for years.
• Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 2.0: Expands the existing law protecting children's data to strengthen protections and include teens up to age 17. Bans targeted advertising to children and teens.
• SCREEN Act: Requires adult websites to verify that users are not minors.
• SAFER Gaming Act: Requires online video games to provide safeguards and parental tools to protect minors.
• Safe Social Media Act: A Schrier-led effort to study minors' use of online platforms and how to keep them safe based on that research.
• SAFE Bots Act: Requires chatbot providers to ensure that chatbots interacting with minors cannot pretend to be licensed professionals, must remind users they are not human, encourage breaks, and provide suicide prevention resources. Schrier has also co-led a similar bill to prevent chatbots from pretending to be licensed professionals with any user, not just minors.
• Spy Kids Act: Prohibits social media platforms from conducting market research on minors.
• Data Broker Disclosure: Requires transparency regarding data broker use of kids' data.
• Study and Public Awareness: The bipartisan agreement also includes a number of bills intended to study childrens' and teens' online safety and promote public awareness, including: No Fentanyl on Social Media Act; Assessing Safety Tools for Parents and Minors Act; Study on Chatbots and Mental Health of Minors; Promoting a Safe Internet for Minors Act; Kids Internet and Safety Partnership Act; and AI Warnings and Resources for Education (AWARE) Act.

Congresswoman Schrier is the first and only pediatrician in Congress, and has used her experience to advocate for the safety, health, and security of children online.