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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered the following statement advocating for advancement of his recently introduced Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act at today’s Full Committee Markup examining key pieces of legislation to protect America’s children and teens online.

Chairman Guthrie’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

“As we sit here today, childhood is being reshaped in real time by the digital world, often in ways detrimental to American families. Parents feel it. Kids are living it. And Congress has a responsibility to act. 


“That is exactly what the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act does. 

“The KIDS Act is the most serious, comprehensive piece of legislation to address online safety to date. There is no one-size-fits-all fix that can help American families navigate the challenges they face in today’s digital childhood. No single policy that can empower parents or fully remove every threat from the internet.  That is precisely why this bill takes a wide-ranging approach.

"This bill brings together a dozen impactful proposals into one unified package. These measures are powerful on their own, but exponentially stronger together. This is the broadest online safety proposal for children and teens ever considered by Congress.

“The KIDS Act:  
– Sets safety as the default. Platforms must maximize protections for children and teens, including safeguards against obscene and restricted products, unsafe communication, and design features that result in compulsive usage.  

– Empowers parents. It requires platforms to provide easy-to-use tools and controls through a centralized interface, making these tools accessible, intuitive, and not yet another burden on already stressed parents.
 
– Protects privacy and security. It bans targeted advertising and market research on children and teens by requiring the strongest privacy settings by default and establishing strict privacy and security standards for personal information. 
 
– Holds Big Tech accountable. The bill mandates annual third-party audits, reporting mechanisms, and robust enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission—and states attorneys general—resulting in the strongest enforcement regime proposed by Congress in any online safety legislation.  

“I want to thank all of the members, both on and off this Committee, for your contributions, dedication, and commitment to putting forward the strongest approach to protecting kids online that Congress has ever seen. The KIDS Act reflects all of our work, and we should be proud of it. 

“This bill should be bipartisan. This bill includes a dozen separate bills – nearly all of which are bipartisan. During negotiations, we accepted dozens of edits from the Minority, and those edits are reflected in the bill before us. Protecting kids and empowering parents is not a partisan issue, and this bill largely reflects the universe of policies we had bipartisan agreement on. I urge all 54 of us in this room to support this bill. This isn’t a moment for politics. It’s a moment to govern. Children across our nation deserve it.  

“I yield back.”

A one pager on the KIDS Act can be found here.

A section by section summary of the KIDS Act can be found here.