The Senate passed two bills this week aimed at expanding privacy protections for children and teenagers online. The bills, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, were both passed with bipartisan support.
The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act reauthorizes a 1998 online privacy bill called COPPA and is being called COPPA 2.0. That legislation clarifies when online websites or other online service operators would be required to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children and would also require schools to ensure any educational technology companies they contract with have adequate privacy safeguards in place for students. COPPA 2.0 would also ban targeted advertising online to minors. KOSA would require online platforms to take reasonable measures to prevent harm that could arise from use of those platforms by children, such as cyberbullying, as well as protect minors’ personal information.
While both pieces of legislation have been endorsed by stakeholder organizations, some groups, including the School Superintendents Association, or AASA, have expressed concerns as well, including that KOSA would limit schools’ ability to use educational technology.
The legislation passed in a 91-3 vote in the Senate and now heads to the House. It is unclear whether the House will take up the legislation when lawmakers return from their summer recess.
Resources:
Anna Merod, “Senate passes bipartisan bills to protect children, teens online,” K-12 Dive, July 31, 2024.
