The Senate overwhelmingly passed two bills Tuesday that would improve privacy and other protections for children online, including restrictions on targeted advertising from technology platforms to minors.
Senate Approves Legislation for Online Child Safety
The bills passed 91-3 in a rare show of bipartisan support that comes after years of congressional hearings in which politicians from both parties criticized CEOs of major platforms for failing to restrict certain types of content targeted at teens and children.
The Kids Online Safety Act requires platforms to include settings to limit access to minors’ personal information, and tools for parents to give them control over account and privacy settings. Larger websites and social media platforms must also disclose the use of algorithms that prioritize information based on user-specific data. The law also includes a mechanism for parents and children to report certain harms.
The Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act prohibits platforms from collecting personal information from minors without notice and consent, among other things. The law also prohibits targeted marketing without the minor's consent.
