Sponsors (15)
Introduced January 28, 2025 by Brian Emanuel Schatz · Last progress January 28, 2025
The bill significantly limits algorithmic personalization and strengthens privacy protections for children in digital services and school networks, improving child safety and parental control, but it risks disrupting student access and classroom uses, imposes costs and administrative burdens on platforms and schools, and creates legal and privacy trade-offs.
Children and teens (under 17) will face far less algorithmic personalization in recommendation feeds and limits on use of their personal data, reducing targeted exposure to potentially harmful content.
Students and schools can block social media on school networks and devices (with limited instructional exemptions), which can reduce in-class distractions and student exposure to harmful content while keeping schools eligible for E‑rate discounts if they certify compliance; the bill also creates an FCC database increasing transparency of school Internet-safety policies.
Parents and families gain stronger privacy and control over minors' data via deletion requirements and limited retention for terminated child accounts, reducing risk of long-term data exploitation.
Teens and youth may find platforms and features restricted or blocked (platforms may disable personalization or access for 13–16 year-olds to avoid compliance risk), reducing youth participation in online communities and potentially limiting positive educational or social uses.
Compliance costs for platforms to remove personalization for under‑17s could be passed on to consumers, advertisers, or taxpayers, raising prices or reducing service quality.
Schools that fail to implement required blocking/certification risk losing E‑rate funding, which could increase broadband costs or reduce connectivity and services for students, especially in resource-constrained districts.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Bans personalized recommendation systems for users under 13 on covered social media platforms and requires E‑rate schools to block student access to social media on supported services/devices/networks.
Prohibits covered social media platforms from using personalized recommendation systems for users under age 13 and establishes statutory definitions and exclusions for what counts as a covered social media platform. Requires elementary and secondary schools that receive E‑rate discounts to certify annually to the FCC that they block student access to social media on supported services, devices, and networks, and directs the FCC to update rules and publish submitted Internet safety policies; noncompliance can trigger repayment obligations and enforcement actions. Includes a severability clause so invalidation of any part does not void the rest.