With ongoing revelations about social media's impact on teen mental health and safety, US lawmakers are advancing bipartisan bills aimed at regulating platforms to better protect children, but critics question if current proposals address the core issues.
- Two bills target social media safety for minors with differing approaches
- KOSA mandates safety-by-design features and default privacy protections
- Experts emphasize need to consider platform structure, not just features
What happened
In response to mounting evidence linking social media to serious mental health challenges for minors, the US Congress is deliberating two related but distinct legislative efforts: the Senate's Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the House's Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act). These bills aim to reduce risks like depression, anxiety, online harassment, and compulsive use by imposing safety-focused requirements on social media platforms.
KOSA, currently approved by the Senate Commerce Committee, pushes for protective default settings for minors, including limiting autoplay and infinite scroll features, and allowing opt-outs from personalized recommendations. Meanwhile, the House-passed KIDS Act faces criticism from Senate proponents like Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who calls it insufficient to hold tech companies accountable.
Why it matters
This legislative push comes as public support for tighter controls grows: a recent Pew Research poll found nearly 60% of US adults favor banning social media for those under 16, with 78% supporting mandatory age verification. The bills attempt to respond to public backlash triggered by revelations that companies like Meta deliberately engineered platforms to foster addictive behaviors in teens.
Despite these efforts, researchers highlight a gap in the proposed regulations. While focusing on specific features and content moderation, these laws largely ignore the fundamental platform architecture—how users connect and interact broadly—which heavily influences content virality and exposure to harmful material. Experts caution that overlooking this architectural dimension may undermine the effectiveness of any safety measures.
What to watch next
The Senate has yet to hold a full vote on KOSA, and the two chambers must reconcile their competing bills before any comprehensive law can be enacted. Key stakeholders will closely watch whether legislation can balance enforceable protections with practical challenges like age verification, which raises privacy and liability concerns for platforms.
Further research and advocacy could push lawmakers to expand focus beyond individual features to platform design itself. The outcome will shape how future digital policies address youth safety in an evolving online landscape where addictive design and viral misinformation continue to pose significant threats.