Senate Commerce Passes KOSMA by Voice Vote

The committee advanced the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA) (S. 278) by voice vote, with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., recording the lone no vote. Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who introduced the measure with Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, was asked if he has House Republican support.

“The next step is going to be to pass it on the Senate floor, but we’re certainly working with House members as well to get it over the finish line there,” he said. KOSMA isn’t a substitute for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) (S. 1409), he said. “They are complementary, and we’re continuing to work on KOSA” and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) (S. 1418), he said. “All three of them, I would like to see pass.”

Markey, who introduced COPPA 2.0 with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., didn’t say why he opposed KOSMA during the markup. His office didn’t comment Wednesday.

NetChoice, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the Software & Information Industry Association, the Center for Democracy & Technology and dozens of consumer groups oppose KOSMA (see 2501290069).

CDT on Wednesday raised concerns about the bill’s expansion of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), an FCC-enforced statute aimed at protecting children’s data in schools and preventing their access to harmful online content. CIPA outlines data privacy standards for schools and libraries to protect against unauthorized sharing and use of children’s data. CDT said KOSMA would “codify invasive and unproven software in schools” and incentivize “AI-driven, persistent monitoring of students.” KOSMA, according to Schatz’s announcement when the bill was introduced, would alter the CIPA framework to “require schools to work in good faith to limit social media on their federally-funded networks.”

SIIA recommended senators reconsider the bill’s “restrictions on personalized recommendation systems, adopt an actual knowledge standard for age verification, and establish a clear federal preemption to avoid a fragmented state-by-state regulatory landscape.” The age-verification provisions have drawn data privacy concerns from opponents.

Markey unsuccessfully filed an amendment to his Ticket Act (S. 281) during the markup. Markey sought a provision limiting future access to government systems Democrats are trying to protect in light of Elon Musk’s government-waste efforts at the Department of Government Efficiency (see 2502040048). Markey’s amendment would have altered the FTC Act to prevent future access to government databases.

Cruz urged members to vote against the “partisan” amendment, saying it “has nothing to do with the Ticket Act” and is outside committee jurisdiction. The amendment is “nothing more than a clear, partisan, political attack on Elon Musk, whom the president has tasked with running” DOGE.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., argued the amendment is within committee jurisdiction, given its focus on the FTC Act’s data security provisions. The committee should take every precaution to guarantee data privacy against any future government “hacks,” she said. DOGE has resulted in “unprecedented” data security risks, she said. The amendment failed on a party-line vote.