Opposition fails to deter House committee’s advancement of child online safety bill

The Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act advanced in a party-line vote by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, drawing criticism from committee Democrats who said the bill weakens accountability for tech companies, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Democrats warned that the bill's provision allowing some state laws overseeing Big Tech to be preempted might make it more difficult for governments to implement greater protections and prevent state attorneys general from suing platforms. They objected to the legislation's inclusion of what they called a weak knowledge requirement, contending that it may enable businesses to escape accountability for online safety harms by saying they had no idea minors were using their services. Lawmakers further raised concerns about the absence of a "duty of care," a provision that would require platforms to address the most serious risks linked to social media proactively.

"Unfortunately, Committee Republicans have chosen to move forward with a set of partisan bills that simply do not meet the mark for kids' safety and, if they become law, would leave kids and their parents worse off than they are today," Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., argued. Democrats proposed a number of modifications to strengthen the bill during the committee markup, but none of them were approved.