Sammy’s Law
Last action on Dec 11, 2025
Summary
Sammy's Law would require major social media platforms with over 100 million monthly users or $1 billion in annual revenue to provide a mechanism allowing children under 17 and their parents or guardians to authorize third-party safety software to monitor and manage the child's account. This software would be able to access the child's user data and control their interactions, content, and account settings on the platform.
The bill establishes safeguards for how this data can be used. Safety software providers would need to register with the Federal Trade Commission, pass a security review, and certify they are U.S.-based and will use data solely to protect children from harm. Providers could only share a child's data with parents or guardians if the child is experiencing or at risk of experiencing specific harms including suicide, eating disorders, sexual abuse, harassment, and academic dishonesty, and only to the extent necessary for parents to understand the risk.
Currently in committee consideration, if enacted, this bill would give parents new tools to monitor their children's social media activity, though it would depend on social media companies implementing the required mechanisms and safety software providers meeting the FTC's registration and security standards.
AI-generated summary
Lifecycle of the Bill
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Apr 3, 2025
HearingHouseHearing4 witnesses
Dec 2, 2025 · 15:15
Legislative Solutions to Protect Children and Teens Online
Summary
On December 2, 2025, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing titled Legislative Solutions to Protect Children and Teens Online. The hearing examined nearly 20 bills forming a proposed comprehensive federal framework for youth online safety, including measures addressing age verification, data privacy, parental controls, algorithmic transparency, and platform design safeguards. The bills under consideration included H.R. 6291 (Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act), the Kids Online Safety Act, the RESET Act, H.R. 2657 (Sammy's Law), H.R. 3149 (App Store Accountability Act), H.R. 1623 (SCREEN Act), H.R. 6290 (Safe Social Media Act), H.R. 6253 (Algorithmic Choice and Transparency Act), H.R. 6289 (Promoting a Safe Internet for Minors Act), and H.R. 6292 (Don't Sell Kids' Data Act of 2025). Four witnesses testified: Marc Berkman, CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety; Joel Thayer, President of the Digital Progress Institute; Paul Lekas, Executive Vice President of the Software & Information Industry Association; and Kate Ruane, Director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology. Witnesses offered varied perspectives on the proposed legislation. Ruane advocated for comprehensive consumer data privacy legislation as the best path to protecting children online. The hearing revealed significant disagreement among lawmakers about the bills' approach, with some members criticizing recent changes to flagship proposals like KOSA and COPPA 2.0, arguing they had been weakened through negotiations. Key themes included concerns about constitutional protections for free expression, the need to balance youth safety with First Amendment rights, and debates over federal preemption of state-level child safety laws. Committee leadership emphasized that the bills were carefully crafted to withstand legal scrutiny following court decisions striking down state-level child online safety laws. The hearing marked an important step in the legislative process but did not guarantee the bills would advance.
Video
Witnesses(4)
| Name | Position | Links |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Joel ThayerDigital Progress Institute | President | |
| Mr. Marc BerkmanOrganization for Social Media Safety | CEO | |
| Mr. Paul LekasSoftware & Information Industry Association | Executive Vice President | |
| Ms. Kate RuaneCenter for Democracy & Technology | Director of the Free Expression Project |
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Dec 11, 2025
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Dec 11, 2025
HearingHouseMarkup
Dec 11, 2025 · 15:15
Markup of 18 Bills
Summary
On December 11, 2025, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a markup of 18 bills designed to protect children and teens from online harms. The bills addressed various aspects of digital safety, including protecting minors from harms associated with ephemeral messaging features and unsolicited direct contact on social media platforms through H.R. 6257, the Safe Messaging for Kids Act. H.R. 6273, the Stop Profiling Youth and Kids (SPY Kids) Act, prohibits major online platforms from conducting market or product-focused research on minors and strengthens parental oversight of data practices. Other bills in the package addressed algorithmic transparency, age verification for adult content, data privacy, and artificial intelligence safeguards. The subcommittee advanced 18 bills seeking to protect children and teens online, including the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA 2.0, with the proposals now going to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee and, if approved there, to the House floor. Democratic subcommittee members expressed concern over a preemption clause — especially as included in KOSA and COPPA 2.0 — that could wipe out state laws with stronger online protections for minors. The markup represents a comprehensive legislative effort to address digital safety concerns, though passage through the full committee and House floor remains uncertain.
Video
HearingHouseMarkup
Mar 5, 2026 · 10:00
Full Committee Markup of Nine Bills
Summary
On March 5, 2026, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a full committee markup of nine bills in the John D. Dingell Room at 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. A markup is a procedural session where a committee considers and potentially amends legislation before deciding whether to advance it to the full chamber. The bills addressed two main policy areas. Several focused on protecting children online: the App Store Accountability Act aims to enhance the protection of minors when using mobile applications by placing specific obligations on app store providers and app developers, while the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act aims to revise and strengthen the existing Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, focusing on safeguarding the online personal information of children and teenagers. Additionally, the Kids Internet Digital Safety (KIDS) Act and Sammy's Law were included in the markup. The remaining bills focused on energy infrastructure security. Bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) would require states to include more detailed data on the physical security, cybersecurity, and resilience of local distribution systems in their energy security plans. The Pipeline Cybersecurity Preparedness Act would require DOE to establish policies, procedures, and programs to enhance the cyber and physical security of pipelines. The Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act would reauthorize the RMUC program and authorize $250 million in appropriations to provide technical and financial assistance to rural electric cooperatives, municipally owned utilities, and small investor-owned utilities to protect systems against cyber threats. As a markup, this session did not include formal witness testimony. The committee's consideration of these bills represents an early procedural step; passage out of committee does not guarantee the bills will advance further in the legislative process.
Video
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Apr 3, 2025
HearingHouseHearing4 witnesses
Dec 2, 2025 · 15:15
Legislative Solutions to Protect Children and Teens Online
Summary
On December 2, 2025, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing titled Legislative Solutions to Protect Children and Teens Online. The hearing examined nearly 20 bills forming a proposed comprehensive federal framework for youth online safety, including measures addressing age verification, data privacy, parental controls, algorithmic transparency, and platform design safeguards. The bills under consideration included H.R. 6291 (Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act), the Kids Online Safety Act, the RESET Act, H.R. 2657 (Sammy's Law), H.R. 3149 (App Store Accountability Act), H.R. 1623 (SCREEN Act), H.R. 6290 (Safe Social Media Act), H.R. 6253 (Algorithmic Choice and Transparency Act), H.R. 6289 (Promoting a Safe Internet for Minors Act), and H.R. 6292 (Don't Sell Kids' Data Act of 2025). Four witnesses testified: Marc Berkman, CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety; Joel Thayer, President of the Digital Progress Institute; Paul Lekas, Executive Vice President of the Software & Information Industry Association; and Kate Ruane, Director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology. Witnesses offered varied perspectives on the proposed legislation. Ruane advocated for comprehensive consumer data privacy legislation as the best path to protecting children online. The hearing revealed significant disagreement among lawmakers about the bills' approach, with some members criticizing recent changes to flagship proposals like KOSA and COPPA 2.0, arguing they had been weakened through negotiations. Key themes included concerns about constitutional protections for free expression, the need to balance youth safety with First Amendment rights, and debates over federal preemption of state-level child safety laws. Committee leadership emphasized that the bills were carefully crafted to withstand legal scrutiny following court decisions striking down state-level child online safety laws. The hearing marked an important step in the legislative process but did not guarantee the bills would advance.
Video
Witnesses(4)
| Name | Position | Links |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Joel ThayerDigital Progress Institute | President | |
| Mr. Marc BerkmanOrganization for Social Media Safety | CEO | |
| Mr. Paul LekasSoftware & Information Industry Association | Executive Vice President | |
| Ms. Kate RuaneCenter for Democracy & Technology | Director of the Free Expression Project |
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Dec 11, 2025
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Dec 11, 2025
HearingHouseMarkup
Dec 11, 2025 · 15:15
Markup of 18 Bills
Summary
On December 11, 2025, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a markup of 18 bills designed to protect children and teens from online harms. The bills addressed various aspects of digital safety, including protecting minors from harms associated with ephemeral messaging features and unsolicited direct contact on social media platforms through H.R. 6257, the Safe Messaging for Kids Act. H.R. 6273, the Stop Profiling Youth and Kids (SPY Kids) Act, prohibits major online platforms from conducting market or product-focused research on minors and strengthens parental oversight of data practices. Other bills in the package addressed algorithmic transparency, age verification for adult content, data privacy, and artificial intelligence safeguards. The subcommittee advanced 18 bills seeking to protect children and teens online, including the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA 2.0, with the proposals now going to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee and, if approved there, to the House floor. Democratic subcommittee members expressed concern over a preemption clause — especially as included in KOSA and COPPA 2.0 — that could wipe out state laws with stronger online protections for minors. The markup represents a comprehensive legislative effort to address digital safety concerns, though passage through the full committee and House floor remains uncertain.
Video
HearingHouseMarkup
Mar 5, 2026 · 10:00
Full Committee Markup of Nine Bills
Summary
On March 5, 2026, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a full committee markup of nine bills in the John D. Dingell Room at 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. A markup is a procedural session where a committee considers and potentially amends legislation before deciding whether to advance it to the full chamber. The bills addressed two main policy areas. Several focused on protecting children online: the App Store Accountability Act aims to enhance the protection of minors when using mobile applications by placing specific obligations on app store providers and app developers, while the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act aims to revise and strengthen the existing Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, focusing on safeguarding the online personal information of children and teenagers. Additionally, the Kids Internet Digital Safety (KIDS) Act and Sammy's Law were included in the markup. The remaining bills focused on energy infrastructure security. Bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) would require states to include more detailed data on the physical security, cybersecurity, and resilience of local distribution systems in their energy security plans. The Pipeline Cybersecurity Preparedness Act would require DOE to establish policies, procedures, and programs to enhance the cyber and physical security of pipelines. The Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act would reauthorize the RMUC program and authorize $250 million in appropriations to provide technical and financial assistance to rural electric cooperatives, municipally owned utilities, and small investor-owned utilities to protect systems against cyber threats. As a markup, this session did not include formal witness testimony. The committee's consideration of these bills represents an early procedural step; passage out of committee does not guarantee the bills will advance further in the legislative process.
Video
Congress
119th Congress
Introduced
Apr 3, 2025
