KIDS UPDATE 2026 07 11
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UPDATE — Kids Online Safety, as of 2026-07-11
update-log . retrieved 2026-07-11
sources: Axios, Roll Call, Crowell & Moring, Brownstein, Al Jazeera, Wikipedia
archived for offline mesh reading
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UPDATE — as of 2026-07-11
What's changed in the ~2 weeks since the House passed the **KIDS Act (H.R. 7757)** on
June 29. Short version: the **Senate is not taking the House bill as-is**, and the
**Supreme Court just let a state app-store age-verification law take effect** — the two
threads flagged in [[00-post-passage-outlook]] both moved.
1. Senate: House KOSA declared "dead," a rival package forms
- **Blumenthal: the House version is "dead in the Senate."** The sticking point is exactly
as predicted — the House **dropped the duty of care**; Senate KOSA keeps it. Neither side
is folding yet.
- **Cruz controls the vehicle.** Senate Commerce Chair **Ted Cruz (R-TX)** plans a
**separate committee markup on kids' privacy in July** — i.e., the Senate will write its
*own* bill rather than take up H.R. 7757. No firm date yet.
- **A competing White House / Blackburn package is being negotiated** for the Senate that
would bundle **KOSA + the App Store Accountability Act + the NO FAKES Act**, with
**language preempting some state laws.** So there are now effectively *three* live
vehicles (House KIDS Act, Senate KOSA-with-duty-of-care, and the White House/Blackburn
bundle) that have to be reconciled.
- **Net:** the "conference vs. amend vs. stall" fork from the outlook doc is resolving
toward **"Senate writes its own"** — which means any final law is still months and one
reconciliation away, if it happens at all.
2. Supreme Court lets Texas app age-verification take effect (July 9)
- On **July 9, 2026**, the **Supreme Court declined to block Texas's app-store
age-verification law** (the App Store Accountability Act / SB 2420), **allowing it to
take effect while litigation continues.** App stores operating in Texas must now
age-verify users and gate minors' access.
- This is a **shadow-docket / stay denial**, not a merits ruling — but practically it
**greenlights enforcement now** and, coming after *Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton*
(2025), signals the Court is **increasingly comfortable with age verification** at the
**app-store/device layer.** (CCIA's First Amendment challenge proceeds.)
- **Why it matters for the federal fight:** it strengthens the hand of the
**App Store Accountability Act** faction — note that bill is in the White House/Blackburn
Senate bundle above. The regulatory center of gravity keeps shifting from *platforms* to
*app stores* (Apple/Google as chokepoints).
3. State landscape: 20+ laws, split three ways
- At least **20 states** have enacted laws on minors' social-media access, addictive feeds,
age-appropriate design, or age verification.
- The map is now **fractured into three buckets**: currently **enforceable**, currently
**enjoined**, and **enacted-but-not-yet-in-force** — the exact patchwork the federal
preemption clause is meant to end (and that state AGs are fighting to keep).
Revised near-term read
Still **no enacted comprehensive federal law.** Most likely path now:
1. **Senate Commerce markup (July)** produces a Senate bill *with* a duty of care →
2. long reconciliation with the House (and the Blackburn/WH bundle) →
3. meanwhile **COPPA 2.0 (already Senate-passed) and the App Store Accountability approach**
remain the likeliest pieces to actually become law first.
Age verification is advancing **fastest through the courts and the states**, not Congress.
Sources
- Axios (2026-06-29) — "House vote sets up Senate clash"
- Roll Call (2026-06-29) — House–Senate divide
- Crowell & Moring; Brownstein — Senate showdown / Cruz markup / WH-Blackburn package
- Al Jazeera (2026-07-06) & rulings 2026-07-09 — SCOTUS clears Texas app age-verification
- Wikipedia — "Social media age verification laws in the United States"
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