By India McCarty
The U.S. Senate officially passed the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA 2.0.
“This bill expands the current law protecting our kids online to ensure companies cannot collect personal information from anyone under the age of 17,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement about the act’s passing. “This is a big step forward for protecting our kids. We hope the House can join us. They haven’t thus far.”
COPPA 2.0 expands upon the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, addressing modern problems like targeted advertising towards minors.
BREAKING: The Senate has unanimously passed COPPA 2.0 – the Children and Teen’s Online Privacy and Protection Act.
Related: Is Congress is Working to Combat Addictive Technology?
This bill EXPANDS the current law protecting our kids online to ensure companies cannot collect personal information from anyone under the age of 17. This is really…
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 5, 2026
This isn’t the only bill focused on children’s online safety that is currently being discussed — the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to send the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act to the House floor for a full vote.
U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FLA) called the KIDS Act “the most comprehensive online safety package” the Energy and Commerce Committee has put before the House of Representatives, explaining that it limits potentially addictive features, blocks geolocation tracking features for minors and turns off algorithms on children’s devices.
“[The KIDS Act] is a combination of years of hearings, evidence gathering, heartfelt testimony and the social media questioning this committee led under several chairs in the past,” Bilirakis said. “We’ve all heard the stories that in a matter of days, kids can be sucked into an algorithm that twists [their] innocent views into promoting violence or drug use or self-harm or eating disorders — KOSA puts an end to this model. We have a great package here … that is going to go a long way to protecting kids and reducing the online harms we have all seen.”
U.S. Rep. and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Brett Guthrie (R-KY) wrote about both bills in a recent op-ed for The Washington Post.
“Collectively, these bills form a commonsense, comprehensive package designed to make the internet safer for kids. But this is not an academic exercise. This work is personal,” he explained. “Some of the loudest, most courageous advocates for reform are parents who have lost children due to online harms. Every member of our committee represents families who have endured unimaginable grief. They deserve more than gestures and idle promises. They deserve laws that work.”
Guthrie continued, “We cannot rely on Big Tech companies that refuse to take responsibility for the products they put into the world. They’ve had years to self-regulate, and they have failed. Now it’s time for Congress to act. By advancing this package of bills, we are one step closer to putting American families back on solid footing to make the best decisions about their digital well-being.”
Parents across the country hope these bills will pass through the House of Representatives and start creating a safer online environment for their children.
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