Castor Says KOSA Discussions Absent in the House
Lead sponsors of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) haven't had substantive discussions about reintroducing the bill in the House, Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., told us in a recent interview.
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Castor, who introduced KOSA with Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., in 2024, said she’s willing to refile the measure, but “there aren’t any real discussions going on.” She’s not confident the majority will take up the measure given how House Republican leadership halted the House Commerce Committee’s privacy plans in 2024. Republicans seem to be siding with tech companies that don’t want “any regulation whatsoever,” she said.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., are planning to reintroduce KOSA in the upper chamber, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has said he expects the committee to pass the legislation again (see 2502110038). Bilirakis’ office didn’t comment Friday, though he has said that he plans to refile KOSA (see 2501130057).
Castor hopes she’s wrong about Republican intentions and that they will pass meaningful privacy legislation, but they are “slow-walking things.” House Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., last month launched a Republican working group focused on comprehensive privacy legislation (see 2502140044).
Group member Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., said the group is “starting from scratch” and doesn’t plan on using the bipartisan American Privacy Rights Act as a starting point. House Republican leadership and Cruz opposed APRA in 2024. Obernolte said the working group issued a request for information to get a better idea of what a digital privacy bill should look like. The legislation will need bipartisan support, but Republicans want to be aligned before negotiating with Democrats, he said. Guthrie told us Joyce and the group are “just getting started.” The deadline for comments is April 7.
TechNet welcomed the working group’s launch and efforts to bring stakeholders together. The association noted its long support for a federal, preemptive privacy law. “This working group represents an important step toward getting a comprehensive privacy law across the finish line,” said Executive Vice President Carl Holshouser. “We look forward to working with this talented group of lawmakers as they work to advance this national policy imperative.”
Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., earlier this week reintroduced legislation that would update the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) (see 2503040037). Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., who authored the House version of COPPA 2.0 with Castor in 2024, when he was on the committee, has said he believes the bill has support to pass both chambers. His office didn’t comment Friday.