Kids Online Privacy Protections – Finally – Set to Pass Senate

Cantwell's years of leadership instrumental in getting COPPA 2.0 and KOSA to Senate floor

Together, bills would give parents new tools to protect their kids online & ban targeting online advertising to children under 17

Social media companies earned $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue off children & teens in 2022

Today, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted to advance the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), clearing the way for final passage next week. Today's vote comes after U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, twice led passage of the bills through her committee, and worked tirelessly with bill sponsors, stakeholders and parents whose children were harmed, to build consensus and support necessary to secure Senate approval.

"Today is about advancing forward on privacy legislation aimed at protecting our children by giving new tools to the Federal Trade Commission -- new authority to take up this cause -- and to clearly outline what we in the United States Senate think needs to be done today to better protect children," Sen. Cantwell said in remarks on the Senate floor prior to the cloture vote.

Sen. Cantwell led the successful passage of COPPA 2.0 and KOSA through the Senate Commerce Committee on July 27, 2022, and again on July 27, 2023. She met several times with families whose children were harmed and worked continuously to strengthen support for the legislation in the Senate.

"Families from all across America have come to the nation's Capitol and said that they've lost children to suicide. They've had children harassed and bullied and had to leave school and move to a different location. They've had the safety and security of their children threatened…," she continued.

"This is such an important piece of legislation before us today. It can't save the lives of people we've already lost. But it can help parents, and it can help all of us as a society…," Sen. Cantwellsaid.

According to a Harvard University study, social media companies generated $11 billion in revenue from advertising directed at children and teenagers in 2022, including nearly $2 billion in ad revenue derived from users age 12 and under.

The Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) bans online companies from collecting personal information from users between 13 and 16 years old without their consent. It bans targeted advertising to children and teens and creates an eraser button for parents and kids to eliminate personal information online. The bill also establishes a Youth Marketing and Privacy Division at the FTC. In February, Sen. Cantwell joined as a bill cosponsor.

The Kids Online Safety Act provides children and parents with the tools, safeguards, and transparency to protect against online harms. It establishes a duty of care for for online platforms and requires them to activate the most protective settings for kids by default, providing minors with options to protect their information, disable addictive product features and opt-out of personalized algorithmic recommendations.

As Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. Cantwell has been a champion for securing data privacy protections. In March 2024, Sen. Cantwell and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R, WA-5) unveiled draft legislation for the bipartisan American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) that would establish clear, national data privacy rights and protections for Americans, eliminates the existing patchwork of state comprehensive data privacy laws and establishes robust enforcement mechanisms to hold violators accountable, including a private right of action for individuals.

Read the transcript of Sen. Cantwell's remarks here.

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