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Rand Paul Blocks Kids Online Safety Act; Parents Still Wait
Paul’s objection stopped a bipartisan effort to pass KOSA, leaving parents waiting for platform safeguards and access to their children’s privacy settings.
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) request to pass the Kids Online Safety Act by unanimous consent. “If good intentions... created good laws, there’d be no need for congressional debate,” Paul said. He also warned that KOSA “promises to be a Pandora’s box of unintended consequences.”
What are parents waiting for? KOSA aims to hold social media companies accountable for the alleged harms their platforms cause young children and teens. The Senate bill, S. 1748, includes a duty of care that would legally require platforms to “exercise reasonable care” to prevent harms to minors1. The harms listed include eating disorders, suicide, substance use disorders and sexual exploitation. The bill also gives parents access to their children's privacy settings and sets up ways to report harm2.
Family Brief's position is plain: the family comes before the platform, and companies that profit from a child's attention owe that child reasonable care. The bill would require platforms to exercise reasonable care to prevent harms to minors.
Wednesday's objection is the latest delay in a long record. Lawmakers have introduced KOSA four times in four years, and it passed the Senate easily in 2024. The Hill reports that House Republicans’ concerns over censorship and free speech kept KOSA from reaching the House floor. The bill has long had support from a majority of senators. The House version that passed last summer as part of a broader package lacks the duty of care, the provision Blackburn and Blumenthal treat as a red line. The Hill reports the legislative calendar is running out this year to reach agreement with the House1.
Paul said the bill would “silence constitutionally protected speech,” specifically pro-life voices and organizations2.
Blumenthal called Paul’s objection “irrelevant” because it “misunderstand[s]” KOSA2, which “explicitly focuses on design features.”
Blumenthal says he hopes the Senate “will act quickly when we return” from the October break2. Parents should hold him to it. Call both of your senators before the Senate returns and ask them to bring S. 1748 to a vote. Tell them the duty of care stays in the bill, and that parents' access to their children's privacy settings is not optional. If Sen. Paul or anyone else has a speech concern, put it in an amendment and vote on it, but do not let another session pass with nothing done.