H.R. 6437

119 HR 6437 IH: Kids Internet Safety Partnership Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-12-04
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 6437  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   December 4, 2025   Mr. Fry  (for himself and  Mr. Landsman ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Energy and Commerce    A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Kids Internet
      Safety Partnership to identify and advance best practices with respect to the online safety of
      minors, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Kids Internet Safety Partnership Act  .
2.
Kids Internet Safety Partnership
(a)
Establishment
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish the Kids Internet Safety Partnership.
(b)
Director
The Secretary shall appoint a Director to be the head of the Partnership.
(c)
Duties
The duties of the Partnership shall be the following:
(1)
Coordinate with relevant Federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, and stakeholders to identify—
(A)
the risks for minors with respect to the use of websites, online services, online applications, and mobile applications;
(B)
the benefits for minors with respect to the use of websites, online services, online applications, and mobile applications; and
(C)
widely accepted or evidence-based best practices that account for minors of different ages and—
(i)
address the risks identified under subparagraph (A); and
(ii)
preserve and enhance the benefits identified under subparagraph (B).
(2)
Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Partnership is established, and every 2 years thereafter, publish on a publicly available website a report that details—
(A)
the identifications made under paragraph (1); and
(B)
the efficacy and adoption by websites, online services, online applications, and mobile applications of—
(i)
safeguards for minors; and
(ii)
parental tools.
(3)
Not later than 2 years after the date on which the Partnership is established, publish on a publicly available website a playbook for providers and developers of websites, online services, online applications, and mobile applications to facilitate the implementation of widely accepted or evidence-based best practices that account for minors of different ages and address the risks identified under paragraph (1)(A) and preserve and enhance the benefits identified under paragraph (1)(B), including best practices with respect to—
(A)
age verification, assurance, and estimation techniques;
(B)
design features;
(C)
parental tools;
(D)
default privacy and account settings;
(E)
reporting systems and tools;
(F)
third-party safety software services; and
(G)
limitations and opt-outs related to personalized recommendation systems and chatbots.
(d)
Stakeholders
In coordinating with stakeholders under subsection (c)(1), the Partnership shall coordinate with the following:
(1)
Academic experts with specific expertise with respect to the prevention of risks for minors online.
(2)
Researchers with specific expertise with respect to social media.
(3)
Parents and minors with demonstrated experience with respect to the safety of minors online.
(4)
Educators with demonstrated experience with respect to the safety of minors online.
(5)
Online platforms.
(6)
Experts in academia and civil society with specific expertise with respect to constitutional law, privacy, free expression, access to information, and civil liberties.
(7)
State attorneys general (or designees thereof who work in State or local government).
(e)
Sunset
The Partnership shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date on which the Partnership is established.
(f)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Design feature
The term  design feature —
(A)
means any feature or component of a website, online service, online application, or mobile application that encourages an increase in or increases the frequency of use or time spent by a user who is a minor with respect to such website, service, or application; and
(B)
includes—
(i)
infinite scrolling or auto play;
(ii)
rewards or incentives based on frequency of use or time spent;
(iii)
notifications and push alerts;
(iv)
badges or other visual award symbols based on frequency of use or time spent; and
(v)
appearance altering filters.
(2)
Minor
The term  minor  means an individual who is under the age of 18.
(3)
Parent
The term  parent  means a legal guardian of a minor.
(4)
Parental tool
The term  parental tool —
(A)
means a tool that—
(i)
a website, online service, online application, or mobile application provides to a parent of a user who the service or application knows is a minor; and
(ii)
the parent uses to support such user with respect to the use of the website, service, or application; and
(B)
includes a tool that allows a parent of a user who the website, service, or application knows is a minor to—
(i)
view or change the privacy and account settings of such user;
(ii)
grant or withdraw verifiable parental consent;
(iii)
restrict the purchases and financial transactions of such user;
(iv)
view metrics of the total time spent on such website, service, or application by such user;
(v)
restrict time spent on such website, service, or application by such user;
(vi)
report illegal or harmful conduct on such website, service, or application with respect to which such user may be a victim; and
(vii)
limit or opt-out of personalized recommendation systems or chatbots.
(5)
Partnership
The term  Partnership  means the Kids Internet Safety Partnership established under subsection (a).
(6)
Secretary
The term  Secretary  means the Secretary of Commerce.
(7)
Verifiable parental consent
The term  verifiable parental consent  has the meaning given such term in section 1302 of the  Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998  ( 15 U.S.C. 6501 ).