WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House plans to consider a bipartisan package on Monday, June 29, 2026, aimed at kids' online safety. The package, backed by House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and ranking member Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., would amend the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act for floor consideration.

Two Democratic senators on Friday, June 26, 2026, called for the House to delay a floor vote on the package. The House version does not include the "duty of care" provision found in a key Senate bill to prevent harms to minor users, such as eating disorders, compulsive use, depression, and anxiety.

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., criticized the House package for omitting the "duty of care" provision. "Without a duty of care, Big Tech companies will maintain the status quo of putting profit before the safety of our children," Blackburn said.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., suggested on Friday, June 26, 2026, that the House should not proceed with the bill, citing insufficient time for lawmakers to study it. Cantwell stated that she did not understand the legislation until she could perform an analysis of it. She also asserted the House version could allow social media companies to have cases against them, including those recently lost in New Mexico and California, dismissed from court.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., one of 76 co-sponsors of the Senate bill, said during the press conference that the House bill is weakened by the absence of the "duty of care" language. He expressed concern that if the bill passes, industry lobbyists could "exploit the kind of misunderstandings that can occur" between the two chambers' bills. "We need to stop this bill in the House and we need to prevent the White House from forming an alliance with Big Tech," Blumenthal said.

The Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act was advanced by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March 2026. The bill is slated for consideration under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. The committee-approved version of the act incorporates 12 measures, including bills focused on new parental controls for online gaming, direct and ephemeral messaging services, and artificial intelligence chatbots.

The bipartisan agreement would add data privacy protections for children and teens and a new data broker registry. It also preempts state laws more narrowly, establishing a floor rather than a ceiling, allowing states to enact more restrictive measures. The key sticking point within the legislation is the Kids' Online Safety Act, or KOSA. The House version of KOSA differs from the bipartisan Senate version sponsored by Senator Blackburn. The House bill requires platforms to "establish, implement, maintain, and enforce reasonable policies, practices, and procedures" to address threats of physical violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, drugs, gambling, and financial harms from deceptive practices. On Monday, June 29, 2026, fifteen children's and medical groups sent a letter to Energy and Commerce leadership in support of the KIDS Act, highlighting kids' safety and data protections.