On Wednesday, August 6th, 2026, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee advanced several bills focused on online and AI safety, including the Shielding Children's Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN) Act and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

The SCREEN Act, introduced by Senator Mike Lee (R–Utah), seeks to require pornography websites to block minors through strict age verification measures that go beyond simple age attestation, mandating IP address verification as well. The bill states that "shielding minors from access to online pornographic content is a compelling government interest" and claims its measures are the "least restrictive means for Congress" to achieve this goal. However, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) warned that such requirements would "force millions of adult internet users to give up their anonymity, privacy, and security before they access lawful speech." Despite these concerns, the SCREEN Act received majority support in the committee but did not advance due to a lack of quorum.

KOSA, which has been under consideration since 2022, mandates that "covered online platforms" such as social media sites and video streaming services implement tools and safeguards to protect users under the age of 17.

Additionally, the committee advanced a bill requiring users under 18 to obtain parental consent before using chatbots, as well as another bill demanding AI companies implement critical privacy safeguards on chatbots.

Representative Ruben Gallego (D–Ariz.) introduced the Parental Approval for Youth Social Media Act, which would require social media platforms to obtain parental consent for children creating or maintaining accounts and to verify users' ages and parental authorization before allowing minors access. Gallego cited France's ban on social media use for children under 15 as inspiration for the bill.

Free speech advocates have raised concerns that these legislative efforts threaten online privacy and freedom by imposing new duties to protect users from subjective reactions to constitutionally protected speech.

Sources