Sponsors
The bill tightens federal protections and enforcement to limit how platforms collect and use children's data and to curb manipulative design features—improving privacy and consumer redress—while imposing compliance costs, risking service restrictions for youth, creating legal complexity, and reducing state/local regulatory flexibility.
Children and teens gain clearer privacy and parental-protection rules: the bill ties age and parental-consent definitions to COPPA, restricts market/product research on minors, and narrows how platforms may use kids' data, making it easier to limit commercial profiling of children.
Federal and state enforcers (FTC and state attorneys general) get clearer authority and coordination to police violations and recover remedies, strengthening the ability to deter and address harmful platform practices affecting residents.
Children and teens are better protected from manipulative product-design features because the bill defines ‘‘design features’’ platforms must consider, reducing exposure to engagement tactics that can harm young users.
Users, families, and smaller platforms may face higher costs or reduced features: compliance and enforcement expenses are likely to be borne by platforms and passed on to consumers or result in trimmed services.
Teens and young people may be excluded or have diminished online experiences because platforms may adopt strict age verification or conservative, blanket restrictions to avoid liability.
State and local governments and residents could lose stronger local protections: federal preemption prevents states from enacting or enforcing laws that supplement the Act, reducing local flexibility and possibly weakening protections that some states currently provide.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Limits market/product research on users known to be children and requires parental consent for similar research on teens; gives the FTC enforcement power and preempts state laws.
Introduced November 21, 2025 by Mariannette Miller-Meeks · Last progress November 21, 2025
Bans covered online platforms from doing market- or product-focused research on users they know are children, and restricts similar research on teens unless verifiable parental consent is obtained. It defines which platforms are covered, lists design features that target minors, preserves existing COPPA protections, makes violations enforceable by the FTC, allows state attorneys general to sue under parens patriae with notice to the FTC, preempts conflicting state and local laws, and takes effect 90 days after enactment.