The agreement, struck between committee Chair Maria Cantwell and ranking member Ted Cruz, now sets the stage for a full Senate vote on the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, two bills that have become the most prominent federal effort to regulate how tech platforms treat younger users.
The compromise resolves a bitter dispute over state attorney general enforcement powers, a sticking point that had prevented the package from reaching the floor. Under the new terms, state attorneys general would retain the ability to sue tech companies for violations, but the bills would not create a private right of action for individual families. This concession was critical to securing support from Republican lawmakers who feared a wave of frivolous litigation, while consumer advocates argued it preserved a crucial enforcement mechanism against corporate misconduct.
The legislative package, which has garnered over 60 co-sponsors in the Senate, would impose a duty of care on social media platforms, requiring them to mitigate harms such as bullying, sexual exploitation, and content promoting suicide or eating disorders for users under 17. It would also mandate that platforms default to the strictest privacy settings for minors and disable addictive product features like autoplay and push notifications for children without parental consent. The companion privacy bill would raise the age of data protection from 13 to 16 and ban targeted advertising to teenagers.
“This is not about breaking the internet. This is about setting basic guardrails for the most vulnerable users,” said a senior Senate aide familiar with the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks. The aide confirmed that the final text of the bill, expected to be filed later this week, includes a sunset clause that will require Congress to reauthorize the duty of care provision after five years, a demand made by tech industry lobbyists who argued the rules could stifle innovation.
Tech Industry and Free Speech Concerns Remain
Despite the bipartisan momentum, the package faces fierce opposition from digital rights groups and a coalition of tech trade associations, who argue the legislation could lead to censorship and violate the First Amendment. Groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have warned that the duty of care standard is too vague and could force platforms to over-filter content to avoid lawsuits, potentially suppressing political speech or access to information on LGBTQ issues. The bill’s sponsors have rejected these claims, pointing to amendments that explicitly protect a minor’s ability to search for educational or health-related information.
The path to a floor vote is now clear, but timing remains uncertain. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not yet scheduled a vote, though sources close to the leadership say the package could be brought up as soon as late September. If passed, the legislation would represent the most significant federal action on child safety since the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, forcing major platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Google to overhaul their default settings and moderation practices for millions of American teenagers.
For now, the deal signals a rare moment of legislative productivity in a deeply divided Congress, driven by years of bipartisan hearings featuring emotional testimony from parents who blamed social media algorithms for their children’s deaths. The final compromise text will be closely scrutinized by both supporters and detractors, but the agreement between Cantwell and Cruz has effectively removed the last procedural hurdle, turning the focus to the broader political calculation of a floor vote in an election year.
