US Senate Commerce Committee advances child online safety bills

On August 4, 2026, the Senate Commerce Committee marked up five bipartisan bills aimed at protecting children from online harms, including the Youth AI Privacy Act, Children’s Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act of 2026, the CHATBOT Act, the SCREEN Act, and the Kids Online Safety Act. The markup was led by Committee Chair Senator Ted Cruz (R‑TX) and Ranking Member Senator Maria Cantwell (D‑WA). The Kids Online Safety Act, reintroduced by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R‑TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D‑CT) with backing from Senate leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer, would set guidelines to shield minors from harmful content while exempting news media.

Advocacy groups welcomed the move. Enough Is Enough, led by President and CEO Donna Rice Hughes, urged Congress to act, citing AI chatbots as a national‑security threat. The News/Media Alliance praised the bipartisan effort for balancing child protection with access to quality journalism. The bills now await further Senate consideration.