More safeguards, more parental control, and Ai transparency
From the Office of Congressman Nick Langworthy
“Last night, the House passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act) with strong bipartisan support. As a father of two, I know parents—not Big Tech—should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to protecting our kids online. Families deserve real tools to shield children from online predators, addictive algorithms, scams, dangerous and illegal products, explicit content, and the emerging risks posed by AI. This bill gives parents more control, strengthens privacy protections for children, updates outdated online safety laws, and holds Big Tech accountable for putting profits ahead of our kids’ well-being. Our children deserve a safer internet, and tonight the House took an important step toward making that happen. Now it’s time for the Senate to follow suit.”
More on the KIDS Act:
Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act or the KIDS Act
This bill requires specified online platforms to establish safeguards for minors. The safeguards include (1) limiting access to specified sexual material, (2) providing parental controls on social media and online video game platforms, and (3) requiring artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to disclose certain information to users who are minors.
First, publicly available online platforms on which more than one-third of the content is considered sexual material harmful to minors under the bill must adopt technology to identify minors and prevent them from accessing such material.
Next, social media platforms must (1) implement default settings for minors that limit compulsive usage features and the ability of other users to communicate with minors, and (2) provide tools for parents to manage the privacy and account settings of a minor. Social media platforms may not allow ephemeral messaging features for minors.
The bill also requires online video game platforms to provide tools that allow parents to (1) limit communication between a minor and other users of the platform, and (2) restrict purchases by a minor on the platform.
Further, providers of AI chatbots must disclose to users who are minors (1) that the chatbot is an AI system and not a human, and (2) suicide and crisis intervention hotline information.
Finally, the bill requires specified studies and reports about the effects of social media platforms on minors and provides for enforcement of the bill’s requirements by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general.
