Legislation that would require social media platforms to implement policies to prevent certain harms to minors was advanced Thursday by the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, with 17 other bills centered on children’s safety online.
The harm-prevention bill, dubbed the Kids’ Online Safety Act, is a new version of legislation that the full committee forwarded last Congress, but leaves out a duty of care mandate for platforms and applies to a narrower list of possible harms to children online.
Subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., sponsored this year’s version, which he said would be the “foundation and the safety net” and would work together with other safety bills before the subcommittee.
