Sponsors (5)
The billExpand federally coordinated online-safety education for minors and support for caregivers and schools, improving awareness and accountability, at the tradeoff of increased federal involvement that raises privacy/scope concerns and modest taxpayer costs.
Children and teens nationwide will gain coordinated online-safety education and resources within 180 days, increasing their awareness of online risks and protective behaviors.
Parents, educators, and schools will receive promoted best practices and publicly accessible materials to help protect minors online, improving adults' ability to guide and support youth online safety.
Federal coordination and annual reporting for 10 years will increase transparency and accountability of government efforts to protect minors online, helping states, nonprofits, and the public track progress and use consistent guidance.
Children and families could face increased privacy and surveillance risks if federal involvement and information-sharing with industry and schools is not strictly limited, potentially exposing sensitive data about minors.
Parents and children may be exposed to expansive or contested content because broad definitions of 'online safety' could lead to outreach on sensitive topics (e.g., substance access, gambling, mental-health interventions) without clear limits.
Taxpayers could face increased costs to fund the FTC-led nationwide campaign and ongoing reporting requirements over 10 years.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes an FTC-led national online-safety public education program for minors, launches within 180 days, and requires annual reports to Congress for 10 years.
Official title: To amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to promote online safety for minors, and for other purposes.
Introduced November 25, 2025 by Laurel Lee · Last progress November 25, 2025
Creates a Federal Trade Commission–led national public awareness and education program to promote online safety for minors and establishes definitions and reporting requirements. The FTC must launch the program within 180 days of enactment, work with federal, state, local, nonprofit, school, industry, law enforcement, and medical partners nationwide, and submit annual reports to Congress for 10 years starting one year after enactment. The amendment replaces parts of the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act to broaden and clarify the program’s scope, key actors, and definitions (including defining “minor” as under 17 and listing what counts as “online safety”). It also updates the statute’s table of contents to reflect the new subtitle structure.