A landmark online-safety bill for children cleared the US House of Representatives in July 2026 and now heads to the Senate. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) would require covered platforms to switch on the strongest privacy settings for minors by default, let parents view and control account and privacy settings, and offer tools to limit compulsive use and opt out of personalised algorithmic feeds.
What changes for families
Platforms would have to provide parental tools that are easy to find and use, including the ability to see total time a child spends on the service and to restrict purchases. Lawmakers say the goal is to curb addictive design rather than to ban apps.
Why it matters
OpenAI has endorsed the Act ahead of Senate hearings, signalling growing industry acceptance of mandatory safeguards. For parents, the practical takeaway is leverage: if KOSA becomes law, the onus shifts from families policing every app to platforms shipping safer defaults. Until then, experts still recommend conversation-first parenting, set parental controls on YouTube and games, and agreed screen-time limits.
Sources: US Congress bill text S.1748, Senator Blumenthal’s office, and CNBC reporting (July 2026).