Leaders of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee have reached a bipartisan agreement on legislation requiring social media platforms to provide safeguards and tools for children and parents. This marks a significant step in the years-long debate over how to protect children online.
Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie and Democratic Representative Frank Pallone declined to disclose specific details of the deal announced Monday but said it would “hold Big Tech accountable.”
“We have worked across party lines for months and have now found common ground on policies that will significantly improve the digital environment for children,” Guthrie and Pallone said in a joint statement.
Tech companies are under increasing pressure in the U.S. over their impact on youth, as parents and state officials push for phone bans in schools to limit access.
The bipartisan deal also addresses some contentious issues in the social media regulation debate. According to a Republican committee spokesperson, the agreement does not include a “duty of care” provision — requiring companies to design social media platforms with child safety as a priority.
House Democrats and some key Senate Republicans, such as Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, have long insisted on including a “duty of care” clause in any child online safety law, complicating the bill’s path forward.
States will be allowed to pass social media laws that provide “greater protections” than the deal’s provisions — a win for Democrats seeking to preserve such laws.
The deal still faces many hurdles before becoming law, including securing support in the Senate and from President Donald Trump. Trump’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to a source familiar with the matter, House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Republican leader in the House, supports the deal.
State-level laws
At the national level, U.S. lawmakers have for years declined to pass comprehensive legislation to regulate social media, prompting states to pass their own laws. At least 20 states enacted laws last year regarding children’s social media use, according to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures.
A December Pew Research Center report found that Snapchat (Snap), Instagram (Meta), YouTube (Google), and TikTok are the most popular digital platforms among U.S. teens ages 13 to 17. Meta and Google declined to comment on the bipartisan deal. Snap and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters previously reported that Meta lobbied Congress for liability exemptions from child-harm claims related to its social media products. Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat face thousands of lawsuits alleging they designed platforms harmful to youth. If such a provision became law, it could weaken those suits. When asked about the lobbying effort and proposed language, Meta spokesperson Stephanie Otway previously told Reuters that the provision “does not invalidate existing lawsuits.”
