Breaking Down the KIDS Act: Part 2 — Research, Education and Safety Standards Behind the Bill

ByShay Hobbs
Two children stand back-to-back, smiling at each other in front of a U.S. flag. A poster reads "The KIDS Act Part 2" and "Title V-VI Breakdown."

As we continue the breakdown of the KIDS Act, to understand what is happening, this is the final part of an otherwise unwieldy structure. This section is about creating solid data points for research and creating best practices.

  • Title V: Research, Education and Best Practices for Protecting Minors Online
    • Research
      • Part 1: Safe Social Media Act
      • Part 2: No Fentanyl on Social Media Act
      • Part 3: Assessing Safety Tools for Parents and Minors Act
      • Part 4: Study on Chatbots and Mental Health of Minors
    • Education
      • Part 1: Promoting a Safe Internet for Minors Act
      • Part 2: AI Warnings and Resources for Education Act – AWARE Act
    • Partnerships and Best Practices
  • Title VI: General Provisions

Title V: Research, Education and Best Practices for Protecting Minors Online

Subtitle A: Research

Part 1: “Safe Social Media Act” directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), working with the Department of Health and Human Services, to create a major report within 3 years after the law passes. It must study real-world social media practices on platforms used by minors and make recommendations for Congress. It specifically covers:

  • What personal information social media platforms actually collect from minors
  • How that information is used for targeted advertising to minors
  • How much minors use social media platforms and the differences by age ranges
  • Mental health effects on minors linked to social media use
  • Potential harmful effects and benefits of extended or heavy social media use

Part 2: “No Fentanyl on Social Media Act” directs the FTC to work with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Drug Enforcement Administration to make a report within 1 year after the law passes. It must examine how minors access fentanyl on social media and include:

  • How common are minors buying fentanyl from drug sellers on social media
  • Health and safety impact on minors
  • How drug dealers use social media to market, sell, deliver, and reach minors
  • Whether platform design makes it easier or harder for minors to get fentanyl
  • What law enforcement, the medical community, and others are already doing to stop it
  • What practices platforms use to block drug sellers, and how well they actually work
  • Recommendations for Congress on eliminating minors’ access to fentanyl on social media

The report will be published publicly with potential redactions to protect law enforcement tactics.

Part 3: “Assessing Safety Tools for Parents and Minors Act” requests within 6 months of the KIDS Act passing that the FTC (working with parents, tech industry, experts in communications technology, parental controls, privacy, mental health, and other relevant groups) must:

  • Review industry efforts to promote online safety for minors, including education campaigns, parental controls, child safety tools, age-appropriate content labels, privacy settings, and other technologies.
  • Examine how effective those tools are at reducing harm to minors.

A complete report with findings and recommendations must be submitted to the House and Senate committees no later than 3 years after the KIDS Act passes.

Part 4: Study on Chatbots and Mental Health of Minors requests the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct a 4-year study to evaluate risks and benefits of chatbots regarding the mental health of minors, specifically:

  • Loneliness
  • Anxiety
  • Social skill building
  • Social isolation
  • Depression
  • Self-harm
  • Suicidal ideation

The study must consult the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, pediatric mental health experts, technologists, ethicists, and educators.

Once complete, the results and recommendations must be submitted to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.

Subtitle B: Education

Part 1: “Promoting a Safe Internet for Minors Act” rewrites a small section of the House KOSA, sections 211-214, and 216. Within 180 days of the KIDS Act coming into law, it requires that the FTC and the following agencies:

  • State and local governments
  • Law enforcement
  • Medical professionals
  • Schools
  • Industry
  • Nonprofit organizations
  • Any other appropriate entities

Are to carry out a nationwide program promoting safe internet use by minors. The program must include the following education materials:

  • Identification, promotion, and encouragement of best practices for educators, platforms, minors, parents, and guardians to protect minors online.
  • Establish and implement an outreach and education campaign throughout the US that promotes online safety for minors
  • Facilitate access to and the exchange of information regarding online safety for minors to promote up-to-date knowledge in connection to harms and risks negatively or positively impacting minors online

There shall be a report made no later than 1 year after the KIDS Act goes into effect, and annually for 10 years afterwards.

Part 2: “AI Warnings and Resources for Education Act,” or “AWARE Act” directs that no later than 1 year after enacting the KIDS Act that the FTC, working with relevant agencies, must develop and make available to the public educational resources for parents, educators, and minors how to safely and responsibly use chatbots, addressing risks and benefits of chatbot use, privacy and data collection practices, and best practices for parents in the safe use of chatbots by minors.

Subtitle C: Partnerships and Best Practices

“Kids Internet Safety Partnership Act” requires the Secretary of Commerce to create the Kids Internet Safety Partnership no later than 1 year after the KIDS Act is enacted, appointing a Director to lead it. The Partnership’s job is to coordinate with the FTC and other federal agencies, alongside a range of stakeholders (academic experts and state attorneys general). Together they must:

  • Identify the risks minors face when using websites, online services, online applications, and mobile apps
  • Identify the benefits minors get from using those same platforms
  • Develop evidence-based or widely accepted best practices based on different age groups, address the identified risks, and preserve or enhance the benefits

Within 1 year of the Partnership’s establishment, and every 2 years thereafter, it must publish a public report detailing these identifications and how effective and widely adopted the safeguards and parental tools actually are.

Within 2 years after the partnership is founded, it must also publish a publicly accessible “playbook” for website, app, and platform providers. This playbook gives practical guidance for implementing best practices in areas such as:

  • Age verification
  • Design features
  • Parental tools
  • Default privacy settings
  • Reporting systems
  • Third-party safety software
  • Limits on personalized recommendations and chatbots

The Partnership shall end 5 years after forming.

Title VI: General Provisions

Enforcement rules and legal protections that apply to the entire KIDS Act

  • The FTC will enforce the KIDS Act. Any violation of the act will be seen as an unfair or deceptive act or practice. The FTC will step in to seek federal court civil fines, issue orders to stop the violation, and use its normal powers and jurisdiction.
  • State attorneys general or other state officials may also bring civil lawsuits in federal district court on behalf of their residents. They can ask the court to stop the violation, force compliance, or order refunds/damages for families. They must notify the FTC before or immediately after filing, and the FTC can step in and participate.
  • If a state tries to enforce a law or rule that conflicts with the KIDS Act, it can be challenged in federal court.


    Title V is built around studying the effects of parental controls and finding the best methods to keep our children safe while educating them about the world around us. Many agencies will be working together on whether they are good enough and how we should proceed when it comes to minors and the internet. Title VI is to make sure research can be completed accurately and cleanly across the board without parents’ rights being trampled on.

When she isn't baking or writing, Shay is often found looking at useful tools for parents. Avid android enthusiast and part-time gamer, her passions lay with fact finding and unusual gadgets. Whether it is tech, games, history, the laws that bind us, cooking, or baking, Shay just can't pick one thing.