(ConservativeFreePress.com) – Senators are proposing new laws to increase online safety for children be added to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization act, which must pass by May 10th.
The proposed laws include two bills aimed at improving data privacy for minors and setting rules limiting harmful online features. On Thursday, Democratic Senator Ed Markey (Mass.) and Republican Senator Bill Cassidy (La.) filed their bill, COPPA 2.0, as an amendment to the FAA bill.
The new laws would overhaul the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and require online platforms to make changes that foster minor protections.
In a statement following the bill’s filing, Markey highlighted that the amendment arose because action protecting the privacy of children and teens was taking too long.
Markey stated the bill would be necessary to bring an end to what he described as the “invasive” business model of tracking and targeting minors online by tech companies, which he blamed for contributing to a “mental crisis” among young Americans.
The bill would increase data privacy for children under 16 by adding regulations surrounding how companies can collect and use the data of younger users. Targeted ads aimed at users under 16 would also be banned under COPPA 2.0.
Earlier on Wednesday, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) also filed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) bill to amend the FAA.
A statement released by Blumenthal’s office confirmed that the pair of senators were pursuing “all possible paths” to ensure KOSA, which targets the features and tools used in a site’s design that are detrimental to the mental health of minors, becomes a law.
Those efforts include affixing it to the upcoming reauthorization of the FAA.
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