E&C Leaders Celebrate House Passage of KIDS Act
Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), and Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL-14) issued the following statements after the House passed H.R. 7757, the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, by a vote of 267 to 117.
“Congress has spent years searching for how to best protect children and teens online, and today’s overwhelming bipartisan vote indicates that we have found our solution. The KIDS Act creates strong protections with new rules for design features, default settings, and kids’ privacy,”said Chairman Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone.“We want to thank our colleagues for their strong vote today to protect kids, empower parents, and hold internet platforms accountable.”
“Empowering parents to better protect their children—especially in the face of the near-constant barrage of digital threats—remains one of our most important responsibilities,” said Congressman Gus Bilirakis.“Today, we advanced that mission by moving forward this package, including the Kids Online Safety Act, which establishes a comprehensive set of safeguards, such as addressing compulsive usage, and parental controls to protect kids. One troubling post should not turn into a constant stream of depression, suicide, or eating disorder content. I remain committed to ensuring children can safely navigate the digital world while holding technology companies accountable. Protecting our kids must always come before protecting corporate profits.”
"Today’s adoption of the bipartisan KIDS Act is a long-overdue and meaningful step toward protecting America’s children in the digital age,” said Congresswoman Kathy Castor. “For years, parents, young people, pediatricians, psychologists, teachers and advocates have made clear that Big Tech must act to reduce the harms experienced by too many kids online. This bill strengthens privacy protections for children and teens, bans targeted advertising to young people, gives families more control and preserves parents’ ability to seek justice in court. This is an important step, but it is not the end of our work. I will continue to press to create a safer digital environment for children and teens.”
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