Senate poised to pass biggest piece of tech regulation in decades

With more than 60 backers, an updated Kids Online Safety Act finally has a path to passage in the Senate but faces uncertainty in the House

By
Updated February 15, 2024 at 4:22 p.m. EST|Published February 15, 2024 at 9:23 a.m. EST
Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) attend a rally after a hearing with Big Tech CEOs on Capitol Hill on Jan. 31. (Haiyun Jiang for The Washington Post)
7 min

After months of negotiations, senators announced Thursday that a sprawling bill to expand protections for children online had secured more than 60 backers, clearing a path to passage for what would be the most significant congressional attempt in decades to regulate tech companies.

The Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, first introduced in 2022, would impose sweeping new obligations on an array of digital platforms, including requiring that companies “exercise reasonable care” to prevent their products from endangering kids. The safeguards would extend to their use of design features that could exacerbate depression, sexual exploitation, bullying, harassment and other harms.