KIDS Act

Requires age checks on adult-content sites, default safety settings for minors on social media, and bans targeted ads to kids under a rewritten privacy law.

The details

The KIDS Act (Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act) sets new federal rules for how online platforms treat people under 17. The House passed it on June 29, 2026. Some websites carry more than a third sexual material harmful to minors. Those sites would have to use age-checking technology to keep minors out. They would verify the age of every visitor, though the bill says it cannot require government-issued ID. Social media platforms would have to give minors built-in safety settings. They would give parents oversight tools and limit features that drive compulsive use. They would let teens control who can message them. They would turn the most protective settings on by default. They could not run targeted ads to minors. They also could not advertise drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or gambling to them. Online video game services and AI chatbot makers get their own rules. Chatbots, for example, must tell minors they are talking to a machine. They must point to a suicide hotline when suicide comes up. They must suggest a break after three hours. A rewritten children's privacy law (COPPA 2.0) would extend federal privacy protections to teens under 18. It would ban targeted advertising to children and teens. It would give families new rights to see, correct, and delete collected data. Companies that sell minors' data would have to register each year with the Federal Trade Commission. They would pay a fee of at least $22,500. Covered platforms would face yearly independent safety audits with public reports. The FTC and state attorneys general would enforce the law. It leaves Section 230 and encryption protections unchanged.