All About Cookies is an independent, advertising-supported website. Some of the offers that appear on this site are from third-party advertisers from which All About Cookies receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).
All About Cookies does not include all financial or credit offers that might be available to consumers nor do we include all companies or all available products. Information is accurate as of the publishing date and has not been provided or endorsed by the advertiser.
The All About Cookies editorial team strives to provide accurate, in-depth information and reviews to help you, our reader, make online privacy decisions with confidence. Here's what you can expect from us:
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a sweeping package of online child safety legislation, moving Congress one step closer to imposing new rules on how websites, apps, and social media platforms protect young users.
The goal, according to lawmakers, is to “protect children and teens online, empower parents, and strengthen families.”[1] Passing a federal standard would also override the patchwork of state age verification laws that have so far been the main line of regulation for children's online safety.
Championed by Rep Frank Pallone Jr (D-NJ) and Rep Brett Guthrie (R-KY), lawmakers passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act in a bipartisan 267-117 vote on June 29. If it ultimately becomes law, the legislation would require many online platforms to provide children and parents with stronger privacy and safety tools while imposing new obligations on companies to address harmful content and addictive platform features.
Specifically, the bill is meant to target features that encourage children to spend more time on social platforms like TikTok, including infinite scrolling/auto play, AI chatbots, notifications, and push alerts.
The bill still faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where lawmakers from both parties have already indicated they want stronger protections than those included in the House version.
Here's what the bill would actually change for your family, and why the privacy stakes go beyond protecting kids.
Rather than creating a single new law, the KIDS Act combines several proposals to make the internet safer for children and teenagers. This includes the SCREEN Act (Shielding Children's Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net Act), which is similar to the SAFE for Kids Act introduced by Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) on June 10, 2026, and targets age verification for pornography sites.
Among other changes, the legislation would require covered online platforms to:
Under the proposal, minors would also have access to tools that let them opt out of any personalized recommendation system, or limit the types of content those systems can recommend.
The package builds on years of congressional efforts to regulate social media companies over concerns that recommendation algorithms, endless scrolling, targeted advertising, and data collection may contribute to mental health challenges and expose children to harmful content.
If the legislation becomes law in its current form, parents would instead be able to manage privacy settings, restrict purchases, view the total time their children spend on platforms, and set limits on screen time all within the platform itself. No need for third-party parental control software.
For children under 13, the bill would prohibit platforms from offering direct messaging features, while teens would receive additional parental controls over who can contact them.
The bill would also prohibit disappearing, or “ephemeral,” messaging features for minors — a feature popularized by Snapchat.
Companies would also face additional responsibilities to address certain harms affecting minors, potentially leading to changes in how children's accounts are created, managed, and monitored.
While protecting children online has broad bipartisan support, lawmakers and privacy advocates remain divided over how far Congress should go.
Several Senate Democrats argue the House bill weakens protections that appeared in an earlier Senate proposal by removing a legal "duty of care" requiring platforms to design products with children's well-being in mind. They have urged senators to strengthen the legislation before moving it forward.
“We’re not going to go with some weak standard,” Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington said in a press release. “We are going to go with a law that can be enforced and accountability, and we’re not going with a study, we’re going on with something that holds them accountable”
All About Cookies reached out to Cantwell for further comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
At the same time, digital rights organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation warn that parts of the legislation could encourage broader age verification requirements, potentially forcing more users to prove their age before accessing online services. They argue that “its requirements come at the expense of privacy, free expression, and the ability of people of all ages to use the internet without revealing sensitive data.”
Meanwhile, supporter Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) insists the bill is a “good first step,” despite its imperfections. He said, “It’s not how I would write the bill. But we’re not in the majority.”
On top of the contents, the bill package was fast-tracked through the House under a procedure called suspension of the rules, which bundles bills together and requires a two-thirds majority. This process has been criticized as bypassing the kind of deliberate debate a measure this sweeping deserves.
Finally, All About Cookies surveyed Americans and found that only 20% found that age verification laws were the best way to protect kids online. Instead, the majority (55%) chose parental control software as their first choice.
/images/2026/02/25/best-ways-to-protect-kids-online.png)
Until this bill becomes federal law in the United States, using a VPN to bypass age verification is still a sound tactic for protecting your privacy.
Despite clearing the House with bipartisan support, the KIDS Act is far from becoming law.
Senators are expected to push for significant changes before considering the legislation, setting up negotiations over issues such as platform accountability, privacy protections, and the scope of companies' legal responsibilities toward young users.
Until both chambers agree on a final version and the president signs it, the proposed requirements won't take effect.
Our #1 rated VPN, which has increased download speeds by up to 36% across all regions in our testing
Historically unlocks Netflix libraries in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia with no errors
Bundles with ad blocker, data removal, and encrypted storage for a more complete privacy setup
/images/2023/07/07/best-identity-theft-protection-service.png)
/images/2023/12/01/omniwatch_review.jpg)
/images/2026/06/30/kids-act-bill-passes-house_1.png)
/images/2026/06/29/oung_female_traveler_smiling_and_with_headphones_while_using_her_smart_0swm8xL.jpg)
/images/2026/06/26/reddit-age-verification-soft-launch.png)
/images/2026/06/24/google-pixel-phone-listening.png){kind=tracking}
/images/2026/06/14/pornhub_vector_webpage_on_macbook_with_a_magnifying_glass.jpg)
/images/2026/06/09/a_logo_outside_of_the_headquarters_of_23andme..jpg){kind=logo}
/authors/thomas-kent-headshot-cropped.png){kind=small}
/authors/kalleigh-lane-new.jpg){kind=small}
/images/2022/05/26/logo-nordvpn.png){kind=logo}
/authors/thomas-kent-headshot-cropped.png)