The Tools For Parents

When it comes to federal legislation that addresses online safety for minors, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is the law of the land

• Passed in 1998-before the iPhone and before Google and Meta were publicly traded companies

• Applies to kids 13 and younger

• Tries to regulate the data that platforms are allowed to collect on minor children by requiring a birthday be entered without requiring any formal documentation.

Below are examples of recent attempts that federal lawmakers have made bring COPPA into the 21st century

                                         * In June 2025, Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced an updated version of S.1418 - 

                                             S.836 "Children's and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act" (COPPA 2.0)

                                                 original version introduced in May of 2023 by Edward Markey (D-MA) 

                                                 bill attempts to update the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998

                                                 19 Senators co-sponsored the 2025 bill         

                                                 part of a larger package passed by the Senate and sent to the House of Representatives

                                                 no action taken by the House of Representatives     

           for a summary of Markey's 2025 bill, text of the bill, record of the actions on the bill, co-sponsors, and other details, click here:

            S.836 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

                                         * In May 2025, Marsha Blackburn (R- Tenn) re-introduced S.1748 -"Kids Online Safety Act" (KOSA)

                                                 introduced in February of 2022 by Richard Blumenthal (D_CT)

                                                 bill attempts to limit minor children's access to social media platforms 

                                                 42 Senators co-sponsored the bill 

                                                 part of a larger package passed by the Senate and sent to the House of Representatives

                                                 no action taken by the House of Representatives                    

             for a summary of Blackburn's bill, text of the bill, record of the actions on the bill, co-sponsors, and other details, click here:

                                      S.1748 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Kids Online Safety Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress   

    Bills were reintroduction because, after passing the Senate, the House of Representatives didn't bring the first version to a vote. 

                           IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

                                           * In April 2024, Representative Gus Bilirakis introduced H.R. 7891 - "Kids Online Safety Act"

                                                  bill attempts to bring similar guardrails to online content as the Senate bill of the same name

                                                  64 Representatives co-sponsored the bill

                                                  did not reach the House floor for a vote

                                                  any future attempts will have to be re-introduced

              for a summary of Bilirakis's bill, text of the bill, record of the actions on the bill, co-sponsors, and other details, click here:

                                       H.R.7891 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Kids Online Safety Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

                     Click here to review how a Federal bill becomes the law of the land:  www.congress.gov/legislative-process