S. 1748 — Kids Online Safety Act

This section establishes definitions for purposes of this title, including "(1) child" as an individual under the age of 13; "(2) compulsive usage" as persistent and repetitive use of a covered platform significantly impacting a minor's major life activities (e.g., socializing, sleeping, eating, learning); "(3) covered platform" as an online platform, online video game, messaging application, or video streaming service used or likely used by a minor, with exceptions for common carriers, broadband providers, email services, nonprofits, schools, libraries, news/sports sites, B2B software, VPNs, and government .gov sites; "(4) design feature" as any platform component encouraging increased minor usage or time spent (e.g., infinite scrolling, autoplay, rewards, notifications, personalized features, in-game purchases, filters); "(5) geolocation" as defined in new section 1302 of COPPA (15 U.S.C. 6501); "(6) know or knows" as actual knowledge or fairly implied from objective circumstances; "(7) microtransaction" as purchases in online video games (including virtual currency), excluding gameplay-earned currency or game expansions; "(8) minor" as an individual under the age of 17; "(9) narcotic drug" as defined in the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802); and "(10) online platform" as a public-facing website, service, application, or mobile app predominantly providing community forums for user-generated content (e.g., social media).

This section establishes a duty of care requiring covered platforms to exercise reasonable care in design features to prevent and mitigate reasonably foreseeable harms to minors where such features contribute, including (1) eating disorders, substance use disorders, and suicidal behaviors; (2) depressive or anxiety disorders with clinically diagnosable symptoms related to compulsive usage; (3) patterns of compulsive usage; (4) severe physical violence or online harassment impacting a major life activity; (5) sexual exploitation and abuse; (6) distribution, sale, or use of narcotic drugs, tobacco or cannabis products, gambling, or alcohol; and (7) financial harms from unfair or deceptive acts or practices as defined in section 5(a)(4) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(4)). It specifies that this duty does not require platforms to block minors from deliberately searching for or requesting content or accessing harm-prevention resources and prohibits enforcement based on First Amendment-protected speech.

This section requires covered platforms to provide users or visitors known to be minors with default safeguards at the most protective level (unless enabled by a parent), including (1) limits on communications from other users, (2) restrictions on public access to the minor's personal data, (3) limits on addictive design features (e.g., infinite scrolling, autoplay, notifications), (4) options to opt out of or limit personalized recommendations while allowing chronological content display, and (5) restrictions and notice on geolocation sharing; and an option to limit time spent on the platform. It further requires covered platforms to provide parental tools (enabled by default for known children) allowing parents to view and manage a child's privacy and account settings (including safeguards), restrict purchases and financial transactions, and limit or view time spent; with notice to the child of applied settings and an exception for pre-existing opt-outs. This section also requires covered platforms to provide reporting tools for harms to minors, an electronic contact point, report receipt confirmation, and substantive responses within 10 days (for platforms averaging over 10 million monthly active U.S. users in the prior year), 21 days (for smaller platforms), or as promptly as needed for imminent safety threats. Additionally, this section prohibits covered platforms from facilitating advertising of narcotic drugs, cannabis products, tobacco products, gambling, or alcohol to known minors and specifies accessibility requirements for safeguards and parental tools (e.g., clear, age-appropriate presentation in the platform's language without encouraging disabling controls).

This section requires covered platforms to provide clear, conspicuous, and easy-to-understand notices and disclosures to minors prior to registration or purchase, including platform safeguards for minors (as required under section 103), access to parental tools, and information on personalized recommendation systems. For children (i.e., those covered under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 [COPPA]), platforms must notify parents and obtain verifiable parental consent, which may be consolidated with COPPA processes; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may issue related guidance. It further requires platforms to (1) disclose in terms and conditions an overview of personalized recommendation systems' use of minors' personal data and opt-out options; (2) label advertisements shown to minors to identify them as ads or marketing, including product details and paid endorsements, with FTC guidance on minimum disclosures; and (3) prominently provide comprehensive resources on safeguards and parental tools to minors and parents, in languages matching platform services for minors where practicable.

This section requires a covered platform—defined as one averaging more than 10,000,000 monthly active U.S. users in the most recent calendar year and predominantly providing a community forum for user-generated content such as social media, virtual reality environments, or social networks—to issue an annual public report based on an independent third-party audit with a reasonable level of assurance. The report must include (1) transparency metrics such as assessments of minor access likelihood and commercial interests, accountings of known U.S. minor users, their median/mean time spent daily/weekly/monthly, content languages (English and top five non-English used in the U.S.), reports received under section 103 disaggregated by language, and compliance with safeguards and parental tools; (2) evaluations of safeguard/parental tool usage, design features increasing minor engagement, personal data collection/processing (including for personalized recommendations), safeguard efficacy, and language-based differences; and (3) mitigation descriptions covering available safeguards/tools, prevention measures (including default highest safety controls), minor-facing design processes, section 103 report handling (response rate, timeliness, substantiveness), and status of prior measures—all for English and the top five non-English U.S. languages. The audit must consider personalized recommendation systems, consult parents/youth experts and research (including section 103 reports and law enforcement data), account for age indicia beyond self-declaration, and assess language-differentiated risks/effectiveness; platforms must fully cooperate by providing relevant information, systems access, and accurate disclosures.

This section prohibits a covered platform from conducting market or product-focused research on a user or visitor it knows to be a child (i.e., under age 13, per COPPA). It further prohibits such research on a known minor unless the platform obtains verifiable parental consent, as defined in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA).

This section directs the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to conduct a study evaluating technologically feasible methods for developing device- or operating system-level age verification systems. The study must assess (1) benefits of such systems; (2) information required for verification; (3) accuracy, accessibility (including for individuals with disabilities), and improvement steps; (4) privacy, data security, and minimization of data collection by platforms and providers; (5) technical feasibility, including hardware and software changes for existing consumer devices; and (6) competitive impacts, including barriers to entry for small companies. The agencies must submit a report on the study to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce not later than one year after enactment.

This section directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, to issue (1) guidance for covered platforms and auditors—considering differences across English and non-English languages—on identifying design features encouraging minors' frequency, time spent, or activity on platforms; safeguarding against misuse of parental tools; best practices for the most protective privacy and safety controls; using indicia or inferences of user age; evaluating safeguard efficacy; and providing additional parental tools to address harms in section 102(a), along with outlining non-subverting conduct such as de minimis user interface changes from consumer testing, uncontrolled algorithms or data outputs, and default enhanced privacy settings; and (2) guidance, including best practices and examples, on determining when a covered platform "had knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances." It further specifies that such guidance confers no rights, does not bind the FTC or courts, and may not form the basis for enforcement actions unless practices violate this title's provisions (with state attorneys general to consider subsection (b) guidance).

This section authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce violations of the title as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the FTC's rule-making authority (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)), incorporating applicable terms, powers, penalties, privileges, and immunities of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) and preserving the agency's other authorities. The section further authorizes State attorneys general to bring civil parens patriae actions in federal or state court against covered platforms for violations of §§103-105—including for injunctions, compliance, damages, restitution, or other relief—subject to prior written notice and complaint to the FTC (unless infeasible, in which case concurrently with filing); grants the FTC intervention, removal, appeal, and hearing rights; preserves state investigative powers; prohibits state actions during FTC suits or based on §102 violations under state law; and specifies venue and service of process rules.

This section establishes the Kids Online Safety Council (Council) to provide Congress with reports containing recommendations and advice on minors' online safety, including (1) identifying risks of harms from online platforms, (2) measures to assess, prevent, and mitigate such harms, (3) research methods on online harms to minors, and (4) best practices and technical standards for transparency reports and audits. The Council comprises 11 members required to include one each from academic experts, social media researchers, parents, youth representatives, educators, online platforms, online video games, state attorneys general or designees, and representatives of socially disadvantaged individuals (as defined in section 8 of the Small Business Act); appointments are made within 180 days of enactment by the President (3 members, including the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Health and Human Services or designees), Speaker of the House (2), House Minority Leader (2), Senate Majority Leader (2), and Senate Minority Leader (2), with members serving for the Council's life. The Council selects its own chair and vice chair; submits an interim report to Congress within one year of its initial meeting and a final report (including findings, dissenting opinions, and legislative/administrative recommendations) within three years of that meeting; terminates 30 days after the final report; and is exempt from the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

This section provides rules of construction for the title, specifying that it does not (1) preempt the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), or other student privacy laws; (2) authorize actions conflicting with section 18(h) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (i.e., limitations on FTC rulemaking for children's advertising); or (3) expand, limit, or alter Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. It further requires the FTC or state attorneys general, when enforcing the title, to determine whether a covered platform has knowledge that a user is a minor based on competent evidence and a reasonable person standard under the totality of circumstances (Thus, without mandating new age data collection or age verification). The section also preserves covered platforms' abilities to cooperate with law enforcement, comply with legal processes, and address security threats or illegal activity; and deems video streaming services compliant if they predominantly feature preselected (non-user-generated) news, sports, entertainment, or similar content with incidental interactivity, and—where account registration is required and content is not predominantly news or sports—offer parental controls, age-rated access limits, privacy settings, purchase restrictions, a dedicated contact, policy notices, and safeguards against serving ads for narcotics, cannabis, tobacco, gambling, or alcohol to known minors.

This section defines key terms for purposes of this title, including (1) algorithmic ranking system, as a computational process (including artificial intelligence techniques) used to rank or prioritize content provided to users on an online platform; (2) approximate geolocation information, as location data with less than 5-mile precision; (3) Commission, as the Federal Trade Commission; (4) connected device, as an internet-capable consumer electronic device with data processing functions; (5) input-transparent algorithm, as an algorithmic ranking system that does not use user-specific data unless expressly provided by the user (e.g., search terms, saved preferences, followed profiles, or current geolocation—but excluding device history, prior locations, or inferences); (6) online platform, as a public-facing website, service, or app predominantly for user-generated content such as social media (excluding sites with incidental chat functions or those primarily for travel reviews); (7) opaque algorithm, as an algorithmic ranking system using user-specific data not expressly provided by the user (except for age-based content restrictions); (8) precise geolocation information, as location data within 5 miles or less; and (9) user-specific data, as information specific to an individual or connected device.

This section requires operators of online platforms using an opaque algorithm (i.e., one using user-specific data to select content for users) to comply with specified requirements beginning one year after enactment of this Act, including (1) providing a clear and conspicuous one-time notice to users upon first interaction with the algorithm and detailed disclosures in terms and conditions about its features, inputs, user data collection, opt-out options, and optimization metrics (e.g., time spent or engagement measures); (2) enabling users to easily switch to an input-transparent algorithm; and (3) prohibiting differential pricing based on users' algorithm choice. For platforms acting on behalf of educational agencies under contracts compliant with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, required notices go to the agency rather than individual users. This section treats violations as unfair or deceptive acts under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)), enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission, while exempting trade secrets and confidential information from disclosure and preserving platforms' ability to implement personalized blocks at users' direction.

This section limits preemption of state laws, rules, or regulations to the extent they conflict with this Act and permits states to enact laws providing greater protection to minors.

This section provides a severability clause stating that if any provision of this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the Act and its amendments remain in effect.