House Republicans Expect to Move Kid Bills Despite Democrats’ Opposition
Expect the House Commerce Committee to pass kids safety legislation, despite the lack of support from Democrats, Republican sponsors of the bills told us in interviews.
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House Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and House Trade Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., announced Tuesday that the subcommittee will consider the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) during a markup Thursday. The committee considered draft versions of the bills at a hearing last week (see 2512010036).
KOSA and COPPA 2.0 had Democratic support in 2024 before Republicans altered the language. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., has dropped her sponsorship of both bills.
Authors of the Senate version of KOSA, Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., opposed the House draft (see 2511260064). “The House version is inadequate because it eliminates the duty of care,” Blumenthal said in a recent interview.
Asked about Senate opposition, particularly from the Republican Blackburn, Bilirakis said: “Let’s get it off the floor of the House. If it has to go to conference, I’m OK with that. But we’ve got to move on it. I need a bill. I want a bill.”
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., author of COPPA 2.0 in the Senate, said in a statement that he’s disappointed House Republicans are “pushing forward a weaker version of COPPA 2.0 that would strip states of essential tools to safeguard children and teens online. The Senate version of COPPA 2.0 reflects years of careful work and strong consensus among a broad, bipartisan group of stakeholders.”
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., author of the COPPA 2.0 draft, is anticipating a markup soon. “All I know is we’re continuing to push them, and we have good reason to believe we’ll get the chance to take them up in the not-too-distant future.” Walberg was a committee member when he introduced COPPA 2.0 with Castor, but he’s no longer on the panel.
Castor, in an interview, said that states should take the lead on protecting children online. “We may have to rely on states because the speaker and the majority leader just seem to refuse to include actual, durable protections for children.” Draft versions of KOSA and COPPA 2.0 look nothing like what was introduced in 2024, she added.
In a statement, Castor called both measures “weak, ineffectual versions” of the prior bills. “COPPA 2.0 should modernize and strengthen privacy protections for kids and teens in the digital age and not allow Big Tech companies and online predators to exploit America’s children,” she said. “The House version of COPPA 2.0 is also riddled with loopholes that fail to protect kids and allow tech companies to avoid accountability.”
Said Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., KOSA and COPPA 2.0 were bipartisan bills with years of work behind them. “We’ve seen a lack of negotiation with Democrats on a number of issues. It’s deeply concerning” Republicans aren’t continuing to negotiate with Castor, she said. “This moment calls for strengthening those pieces of legislation. ... We’re going to continue demanding that we make these [bills] as strong as possible.”