The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced four measures related to children’s online safety and Coast Guard promotions during an executive session on Aug. 5.
According to the committee, actions included voice votes approving the Kids Online Safety Act as amended by the Blackburn substitute, the Youth AI Privacy Act with multiple amendments, the CHATBOT Act with several modifications, and the Children’s Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act of 2026 as amended by the Duckworth substitute. Coast Guard promotions were agreed to by roll call vote with 28 yeas and 0 nays. The SCREEN Act was also approved in a party-line vote but will require a revote due to Senate rules regarding in-person attendance.
Chairman Ted Cruz said in prepared remarks that, “Today, the committee will vote on Coast Guard promotions and five bills to address issues of kids’ online safety. Online platforms offer children opportunities to learn, create, and communicate. But they can also expose children to grave harms.” He continued: “Almost all parents today struggle with permitting their children to use and benefit from new technology because the horror stories are real. The bills before us are meant to give parents more control, and assurance, that their vulnerable children won’t be exposed to the worst possible elements of social media and AI chatbots.” Cruz recognized parent advocates present at the session: “As a father of two teenage girls, nothing is more important to me than knowing my daughters are protected from the dangers that exist online. Thank you for your tireless advocacy. Your work is making the internet a safer place for every family across the country.”
Cruz outlined each bill under consideration: The SCREEN Act aims to protect minors from explicit content by requiring websites hosting such material to verify users’ ages; he noted similar legislation has passed in other chambers or been upheld by courts previously. The Kids Online Safety Act would establish guardrails for platforms used by minors including social media sites and video games—Cruz said it has broad bipartisan support with 75 cosponsors.
He described provisions of other measures such as requiring parental oversight over teen chatbot accounts (CHATBOT Act), limiting data retention about minors (Youth AI Privacy Act), prohibiting advertising directed at minors on chatbots, studying risks posed by AI-enabled toys (Children’s Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act), and directing federal agencies toward joint action plans for toy safety recommendations.
The Senate Commerce Committee operates within Congress reviewing policies involving commerce, science, transportation—including those affecting youth technology usage—under direction of its chairman with bipartisan membership based in Washington D.C., according to its official website.