Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7757, the bipartisan Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, or the KIDS Act.

As a member of Gen X, who is a mom to a Gen Z teen and Gen Alpha tween, I struggle every day to find the balance between giving our kids the freedom they need to develop and grow and keeping them safe. I see every day that the digital world kids face today is unlike anything previous generations have faced before.

Every day innovators launch new technologies, applications, and online platforms that create incredible opportunities for learning, creativity, and connection. Those same innovations also create new opportunities for those who would do our kids harm. New risks for invasive data collection, cyberbullying, online exploitation, and harmful content.

It is much harder for parents or other trusted adults today to protect kids from these harms that they often don't see in an ecosystem they often don't understand.

It is past time for Congress to act before more children are put at risk. We are probably 20 years too late. We can't wait anymore.

The KIDS Act closes critical gaps in Federal law by strengthening privacy protections for children and teens; banning targeted advertising to minors; limiting unnecessary data collection, giving parents and teens greater control over personal information; increasing transparency for data brokers; and requiring online platforms to implement stronger default safety tools that reduce harmful interactions. Notably, it preserves every State's ability to go even further.

While this package does not include everything that we would like to see, we cannot let the perfect become the enemy of the good, and this bill is a critical first step.

Our children deserve to enjoy the benefits of technology without sacrificing their privacy, their safety, or mental health.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone and Chairman Guthrie for bringing Democrats and Republicans on the committee together to produce this significant bipartisan legislation at a time when most people believe bipartisanship is dead.

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