Fast Facts

• The House Energy and Commerce Committee revealed a new draft of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), dropping the “duty of care” provision.
• Big tech companies no longer face direct legal liability for harms to minors under the latest proposal.
• Platforms would be required to establish “reasonable” safety policies, tailored to their size and capabilities.
• Additional bills, including COPPA 2.0 and the App Store Accountability Act, aim to strengthen online privacy and age verification.
• The legislative battle is fueled by lobbying from tech giants and advocacy from bereaved parents.

Scene: A Tense Balancing Act in Congress

Picture a crowded hearing room on Capitol Hill: lawmakers, tech lobbyists, grieving parents, and privacy advocates all vying for the mic. The stakes? The online safety of millions of American children. At the heart of the debate is a new draft of the Kids Online Safety Act, hastily rewritten after last year’s version crashed into the brick wall of free speech concerns and Silicon Valley’s formidable lobbying machine.

From Iron Fist to Velvet Glove: How KOSA Changed

The original Senate-passed KOSA included a “duty of care” - a legal requirement that would have held tech giants responsible for social harms like cyberbullying and online exploitation. That clause was the bill’s sharpest tooth, and it drew heavy fire from both industry and civil liberties groups. Critics warned it could stifle free expression and force platforms to over-censor content. By the time the bill reached the House, the duty of care was gone, replaced with language instructing platforms to adopt “reasonable” policies - an elastic term that leaves much up to interpretation and enforcement.

Why the Compromise? A History of Missed Connections

Efforts to regulate children’s online safety have a checkered past. The original Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), passed in 1998, set age-based privacy rules but quickly became outdated as social media and smartphones transformed childhood. Recent years have seen a surge of tragic headlines - teens driven to suicide by online abuse, predators lurking in direct messages - fueling public demand for action. Yet, every attempt to update the law has collided with the twin obstacles of tech industry lobbying and constitutional concerns over speech.

Market and Geopolitical Ripples

Tech companies, wary of new liabilities, have long argued that heavy-handed regulation could stifle innovation and hurt the U.S. tech sector’s global competitiveness. Meanwhile, Europe’s Digital Services Act has already imposed strict requirements on platforms - raising questions about whether American children are being left behind. The new House draft signals a willingness to compromise, but critics say it risks offering only “security theater” - visible rules without meaningful enforcement or accountability.

What’s Next?

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s hearing is just the opening salvo in what promises to be a drawn-out battle. With parents’ groups and industry lobbyists on a collision course, the fate of KOSA and related bills like COPPA 2.0 and the App Store Accountability Act hangs in the balance. One thing is clear: the digital playground is changing, but whether the new rules will truly protect kids - or just make us feel safer - is still up for debate.

WIKICROOK

• Duty of Care: Duty of Care is a legal obligation requiring organizations to take reasonable steps to prevent harm to users, making them liable for negligence.
• KOSA: KOSA is a proposed U.S. law requiring tech platforms to protect minors from online harms through stricter safety and privacy regulations.
• COPPA: COPPA is a U.S. law that requires websites and apps to protect the personal information of children under 13 and obtain parental consent.
• Age Verification: Age verification confirms a user's age, usually by checking official ID, to limit access to age-restricted online content or services.
• Platform Liability: Platform liability is the legal concept that holds online service providers responsible for harmful or illegal content and actions occurring on their platforms.