Federal Kids Safety Legislation Faces Judicial Headwinds Over Content Carve-outs

For streaming B2B leaders, these legislative movements represent a significant compliance shift that could mandate costly identity verification layers and parental control engineering. The tension between state-level enforcement and federal preemption remains unresolved, posing a risk of fragmented regional standards for audience management. If federal courts apply the same logic used in recent state-level injunctions, even narrow safety mandates may be stayed, leaving platforms in a state of regulatory limbo. Watch for the Senate’s response to the House version of KOSA, particularly whether the 'duty of care' provision survives further negotiation.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act (H.R. 7757) on June 29, 2026, in a 267–117 bipartisan vote. The current version of the bill consolidates elements from 14 separate legislative proposals, including the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and COPPA 2.0. A central point of contention remains the omission of a 'duty of care' standard, which Senate sponsors like Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) argue is essential for holding platforms accountable for psychological harms. According to reports from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) in July 2026, this divergence between the House and Senate versions could stall the package's final passage.

Contemporaneously, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the Texas App Store Accountability Act on July 6, 2026. This allows Texas to proceed with enforcing a law that requires app stores to verify user ages and obtain parental consent for downloads, while substantive challenges continue in the lower courts. Per the Associated Press, this ruling follows the Court's 2025 decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, which upheld age verification for adult-oriented sites. However, legal analysts from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) note that the judiciary distinguishes between 'obscene' content and general-audience streaming or social media services, where First Amendment protections for minors and adults are historically stronger.

Globally, regulatory pressure is mounting as Australia and the United Kingdom have recently moved toward more restrictive policies. Following a national consultation, the UK government announced in July 2026 that it intends to implement a social media ban for children under 16 by Spring 2027. These international benchmarks are increasingly cited in U.S. congressional hearings, despite the unique constitutional hurdles faced by American legislators attempting to define 'addictive' or 'harmful' features in digital video environments.