Senate Commerce Committee Advances Kids’ Online Safety Legislation

The Senate Commerce Committee recently considered a package of bipartisan bills focused on protecting children’s privacy and safety online, including legislation addressing social media platforms, artificial intelligence, AI chatbots, and AI-enabled toys.

AESA supports efforts to establish strong protections for students as technology and artificial intelligence become increasingly integrated into their lives and learning. Federal policy should provide meaningful safeguards for children while recognizing the important role schools and educational leaders play in decisions involving student data, privacy, and technology.

Among the proposals considered were:

• The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), S. 1748, which would establish new safeguards for online platforms used by minors, strengthen protections for minors’ data, provide options to opt out of personalized algorithms, and require platforms to take steps to mitigate harms to children. AESA supports KOSA and its efforts to strengthen online protections for children.
• The Youth AI Privacy Act, S. 4199, which focuses on protecting minors’ privacy when using AI chatbots, including restrictions related to advertising and the retention and use of information from minors’ interactions with AI systems.
• The CHATBOT Act, S. 4407, which would establish safeguards around children’s and teens’ use of AI chatbots, including parental consent and family account provisions, protective default settings, and requirements aimed at limiting minors’ exposure to harmful content. AESA is supportive of the goals of the CHATBOT Act and believes appropriate safeguards and parental involvement are important as AI tools become more widely available to students.
• The Children’s Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act, S. 5171, which would direct further study of potential risks associated with AI-enabled toys and require federal agencies to develop recommendations related to their safety, sale, and marketing.

AESA believes federal policy addressing student privacy, online safety, and artificial intelligence should establish a strong national floor for protections while preserving the ability of states and local education leaders to adopt stronger safeguards when appropriate. Technology companies should also be held accountable for ensuring that AI and other digital tools used in educational settings include meaningful privacy and safety protections.

The committee advanced KOSA, the Youth AI Privacy Act, the CHATBOT Act, and the Children’s Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act, moving them closer to consideration by the full Senate. Significant differences remain between some Senate proposals and related legislation in the House, making their path to final passage uncertain.

AESA will continue to monitor these proposals and advocate for policies that protect students, preserve state and local decision-making, and ensure schools have a meaningful voice in how technology and AI are deployed in educational settings.