House Commerce Members Doubt Passage of Kids Online Safety Bill in Lame Duck

Kids’ online safety legislation is unlikely to gain House approval during the lame-duck session, House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and key Republicans told us in interviews.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in September expressed hope House Republicans would consider the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) (HR-7891) during the lame duck (see 2409230044). The House Commerce Committee approved KOSA and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) (HR-7890) by voice vote in September.

A high-ranking staffer for Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in September she expected the House would take up the bills, but only after legislative tweaks (see 2409240049). Many House Commerce Democrats criticized the chamber’s bills as being weaker versions of what passed the Senate (see 2409180048).

Pallone told us Thursday that bill language still needs "a lot" of work: If it’s possible to make consensus changes in the coming weeks, “we could do it in the lame duck, but right now it needs a lot of work.”

“I think we’re getting to a point in the session that it’s going to be difficult to get something” passed by Dec. 20, said Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., who’s been active in House Republican privacy discussions (see 2406260062). “If I have anything to do with it early in the next session, we’re going to look at privacy again. We need to. It’s too important for our kids for us not to accomplish sooner rather than later, but I think we’re to the point now with so much going on between now and before Christmas for something to happen.”

Republicans are “probably” thinking of 2025 for passage, said Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., who introduced COPPA 2.0 with Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla. Given the incoming administration and a new Senate majority, “time and attention are going in other directions, but kids’ privacy is a bipartisan issue,” said Walberg. Republican control of both chambers bodes well for final passage, he said: “I think it’s a strong prospect that we get it done.”

Castor and Blumenthal told reporters they remain hopeful for the kids’ bills, even in the lame-duck session. “What gives me that hope” is the 91-3 vote in the Senate and the House Commerce Committee’s voice vote passage of the two bills, said Blumenthal. “I’ve heard nothing from [House] leadership that leads me to think that they will oppose it,” said Blumenthal. If KOSA is “given a vote, it would pass.”

“I think there are a lot of good discussions going on right now on all sides,” Castor told us. With Congress back in session, “people will now start to tune in every few weeks, and it’s really important to get things across the finish line.” The office for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., didn’t comment.