Senate KOSA, CHATBOT & Youth AI Privacy Markup — Full Transcript

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksGood morning. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will come to order. 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.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksBut they can also expose children to grave harms. 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. Before I turn to today's legislation, I want to take a moment to recognize the parent advocates who are here.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksAs the father of two teenage girls, nothing is more important to me than knowing that my daughters are protected from dangers that exist online and elsewhere. Thank you for your tireless advocacy. Your work is making the Internet a safer place for every family across the country, and you fighting for the kids and grandkids of all of us. Our first bill, the Screen Act, introduced by Senator Lee with Senators Banks and Curtis, would protect children from explicit pornography by requiring such websites to identify and block access to minors.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksA substantially similar bill passed the House with bipartisan support, and the Supreme Court upheld a similar Texas age verification law last year. The second bill, Senator Blackburn's Kids Online Safety Act, introduced with Senator Blumenthal, would set guardrails for online platforms used by minors, including social media, online video games, messaging apps, and video streamers. With 75 co-sponsors, many of whom are on this committee, and a 91-3 Senate vote last Congress, KOSA represents a major effort to protect children online. And I thank Senator Blackburn for her tireless work advancing it.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksTurning to artificial intelligence, the Chatbot Act, which I introduced with Senators Schatz, Schiff, and Curtis, would put parents in charge of how children use AI chatbots. The bill would require family accounts that ensure parents can oversee their child's activity. It would require parental consent before a teen could create an account and place the most protective design settings on teen accounts by default. It would also require AI companies to make reasonable efforts at stopping chatbots from presenting obscene material or facilitating suicidal ideation to minors.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksAI companies would be required to refer suicidal children and teens to the appropriate crisis resources and when a child or teen is connected to a family account to notify their parents. Senator Markey Youth AI Privacy Act would help ensure that minors can benefit from AI chatbots without sacrificing their privacy or being shaped by systems that retain too much information about them. The bill would prohibit advertising to minors on chatbots and address how long a chatbot may retain and use memory from a minor's interactions. These limits would help prevent chatbots from accumulating sensitive information about children.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksLastly, we have the Children's Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act, introduced by Senators Duckworth and Murkowski. The bill directs the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to conduct a study on the risks of injury to children from AI-enabled toys. It requires the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to create a joint action plan with recommendations for legislation, regulations, guidelines, standards, and education relating to the sale and marketing of AI-enabled toys. Before I conclude, I want to recognize a few exceptional staff members whose dedication often goes unnoticed.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksFirst, Stephanie Liu, who has served as a staff assistant on the Commerce Committee for 23 years. She has worked alongside nearly every Republican and Democrat staff member to serve on this committee. Stephanie has become a familiar face throughout the Capitol complex and a trusted friend to many. Just yesterday, Senator Cantwell and I had the privilege of recognizing her 20 years of Senate service, a remarkable milestone that reflects unwavering dedication to this committee and the institution she serves.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksCongratulations, Stephanie. I also want to recognize Lila Helms, the Minority Staff Director. Her leadership has helped this committee advance numerous bipartisan reauthorization bills this summer, including the Weather Act and the NASA authorization. We've also worked together in conference rooms for hours upon hours, especially upon college sports.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksShe has more than once wanted to kill me. She has even more frequently wanted to kill Brad Grants. And we have discovered that Cuban coffee solves almost every problem that exists on planet Earth Lila thank you for your partnership And yesterday we recognized you for an extraordinary 30 years of federal service in the Senate I did not know that you were hired at age 10, but it is remarkable and it has benefited America. So thank you.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksLastly, I'd like to recognize Paul Wasik, Deputy Policy Director for Surface Transportation. Today is Paul's last day on my staff after 13 years of dedicated service to the Senate. Throughout his tenure, he has been instrumental in shepherding key priorities, including PHMSA reauthorization and legislation affecting international bridges in Texas. Paul, your expertise, steady leadership, and deep institutional knowledge has been invaluable not only to my office, but to this committee as well.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksYou have worked with members of this committee on both sides for a long time. You will be greatly missed, and I wish you great success in your next chapter. Thank you, Paul. And with that, I recognize Ranking Member Cantwell.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksThank you, Mr. Chairman. And sorry to be late to the hearing, but the state of Washington is facing historic fires. In fact, we are the highest risk fires in the nation and the highest resource.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksAnd we were on a call with various Ag Secretary, DOI, and many people trying to get a plan for continuing to address the wildfires in Spokane and throughout Washington State. So again, sorry for being late to this very important hearing. I too want to thank Stephanie Liu for her great service. It was great to give her a pin.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksI didn't realize you got a... It almost looks like our little congressional pin. So I don't know if that... I'm expecting Lila to go on the floor and start voting.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksSo I so appreciate her hard work over these many years. and her many stories about various chairmen of this committee, and certainly remembering the various assets and resources that it takes to make this committee function. So I want to basically thank Stephanie for that and for her leadership. And definitely there are no words to describe the invaluable contributions of Lila Helms In fact I threatened to have a picture Lila of you with every chairman and ranking member but I don know if we produced those yet So we have to save those for a future future markup. But Lila coming back from the private sector having served here for many many years in the Senate is what you always hope for.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksSomebody with great experience, great knowledge, great expertise and willing to come back to the Hill to make things happen. So clearly the many many things that we've been able to make happen in the Senate Commerce Committee could not have happened without her help and contribution and her steadfast commitment to the priorities that we have on on our side of the aisle. So Lila, my dearest dearest thanks for all of that and cannot imagine what 30 years looks like on the Hill, but we will we will chronicle again these great accomplishments. The chairman mentioned a few of late, but over the history many, I don't even know Mr.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksChairman if the public really does have a sense of the many contributions that are made here by staff and the many contributions that make up a legislative process. Oftentimes the Commerce Committee is known for negotiating for weeks and weeks and weeks, but people don't realize that somewhere around 5 o'clock they kind of grind into a all-night session and that staff often negotiate all night to come to the final agreements on amendments and processes and then show up here as if they went home and had a rested night. So that kind of dedication goes on day in and day out and the products of today's markup as it relates to the kids bills are just another example of that. I'm sure they were working, if not all night, close to all night last night to get us prepared.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksSo what you see here, we get to benefit, but in reality, it's the hard work behind us. And Lila, those 30 years have meant a lot to the United States. And thank you for that service. That pin is well-deserved.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksAnd yeah, she could go out there on the floor with that. Mr. Chairman, turning to the markup and the issues at hand today, we have five bills and five Coast Guard nominees, and I'm pleased to advance four measures today that will help protect kids from harm and from using social media and AI, including the Kids Online Safety Act, which has 74 sponsors and was passed on the Senate floor in 2024 by an overwhelming 93 to 1 vote. Children and teens face real risk of harm and online, and we have lost too many.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksCongress needs to do more. In my state, in Washington, Sophia Humphreys, Brilliant, Lynch, and Avery Ping, under the age of 21 lost their lives to fentanyl poisoning after obtaining pills through a dealer they met on Snapchat. Their parents recently signed a letter to Senator Cruz and myself urging that we come together to pass the strongest possible legislation to keep children safe from the harms of social media. I believe the Kids Online Safety Act from Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal, who I saw Senator Blumenthal here in the back of the room, does just that.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksIt imposes a duty of care on social media platforms so that these companies have to take reasonable care to make sure they are not creating harm and implementing products that harm kids. We need more responsibility from social media companies and KOSA gives parents the tools that help make them accountable when they prioritize engagement over keeping our kids safe. KOSA also requires social media companies to set protective default settings for kids, including limiting design features that encourage or increase the time kids spend scrolling on social media. And KOSA would require covered platforms to have a mechanism for users to report harms to kids on the platform.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksThe platform is required to respond to each report. I want to recognize the parents that are here today as well. Thank you all for being here. I know that too many of you have lost children to the harms of social media, and I can't imagine the tireless advocacy that you have gone through.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksThank you so much for being here and being part of today's markup. I hope we can get these bills to the president's desk as soon as possible so that no more parents have to experience what you have to experience. The Chatbot Act by Senators Cruz and Schatz and Curtis also includes more tools that parents can use to help protect kids online. The Chatbot Act would give parents more control over kids' interaction with AI.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksFor example the bill requires AI chat box providers to give parents the option to limit the amount of time their kids spend using the chatbot and options to disable push alerts and reward incentives These settings are automatically set at the most protective settings for kids unless a parent decides to change them. This bill takes an important step, but I don't think we can stop here. While giving parents more tools to protect their kids in an important, while this is an important first step, we need to ensure that AI chatbot providers are designating safe products and default protections built in to reduce the risk of this compulsive use, which is so addicting, and to the harms that come from it.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksAnd that is why the second chatbot bill we will consider today from Senator Markey is also important. Senator Markey's Youth AI Privacy Act requires those AI chatbots to implement certain safe design features for the use of minors including providing clear and repeated warnings to kids that the chat box is not human, disabling push alerts and rewards incentive based on time, and limiting the amount of time the chat box can recall past conversations with user. This bill also establishes strong privacy safeguards for the data chat box collect for minors and prohibits advertising to minors. Finally and critically I'm pleased that the both chat box bills including floor preemption provisions to ensure that states can continue to enact greater protections for kids.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksThe Children's Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act by Senator Duckworth requires the National Academies of Science and Engineering to conduct an AI study on an AI enabled toys. The study will examine the risk of injury and social and emotional and educational outcomes for children using those toys. Additionally, the bill directs the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Product Safety Commission to prepare joint action plans with recommendations on the use of those toys and providing safety. I am concerned about the risk posed by these AI enabled toys, especially to young children, and I hope that this study will help us with an action plan here and meaningful recommendations for the future and help spur the CPSC to take action to protect kids from harm proposed by those toys.

Ranking Member Maria Cantwell — verbatim remarksFinally, considering the Screen Act by Senators Lee and Curtis, while I appreciate my colleagues' goal of trying to protect children, I can't support the bill as written today, but look forward to working with my colleagues in the future to improve this legislation and hopefully get it into the Senate and out of the Senate Thank you Mr Chairman Thank you. I now recognize Ranking Member Cantwell for a motion. Mr. Chairman, I move that PN 1174, PN 1175, PN 1176 Coast Guard promotions be favorably reported.

Is there a second? Second. The clerk will call the roll. Mr.

Thune? Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye, aye, by proxy. I have a proxy. Mr. Sullivan.

Aye, Ms. Blackburn. Aye. Mr.

Young. Mr Budd. Aye. Mr Schmitt.

Aye, aye, by proxy. Mr. Curtis. Aye.

Mr. Moreno. Aye. Mister Moreno.

Aye, aye, by proxy. Mr. Sheehy. Aye.

Mrs Capito. Aye. Mrs. Lummis.

Aye. Ms. Cantwell. Aye.

Ms. Klobuchar. Aye. Aye, by proxy.

Mr. Schatz. Mr. Markey.

Aye. Aye. By proxy. Mr.

Peters. Aye. Ms. Baldwin.

Aye. Ms. Duckworth. Aye.

Ms. Rosen. Aye. Mr.

Lujan. Aye. Mr. Hickenlooper.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye. Yes, is there 28? The motion is agreed to and the nominations are ordered to be reported favorably. I recognize Senator Curtis for a motion.

I move that S. 737 Screen Act as amended by the Curtis substitute as modified be favorably reported. Is there a second? Second. A roll call vote please Mr.

Chairman. The clerk will call the roll. Mr. Thune.

Aye by proxy. Mr. Wicker. Aye.

Mrs. Fischer. Aye. Mr.

Moran. Aye by proxy. Mr. Sullivan.

Aye. Mrs. Blackburn. Aye Mr Young Aye Mr Schmitt I a proxy Mr Curtis Mr Moreno I have a proxy Mr Sheehy Mrs.

Capito Miss Lummis Miss Cantwell no miss Klobuchar no by proxy Mr. Schatz? Aye. Mr.

Markey? Mr. Peters? No.

Ms. Baldwin? No. Ms.

Duckworth? No. Ms. Rosen?

No. Mr. Lujan? No.

Mr. Hickenlooper? No by proxy. Mr.

Fetterman? No by proxy. Mr. Kim?

No by proxy. Ms. Blunt Rochester? No.

Mr. Cruz. Aye. The ayes are 15, the noes are 13 with four yes proxy votes.

Mr. Chairman, I note that there are not enough members in the room voting to advance the Screen Act. While the motion is agreed to, we do not have a sufficient number of members present to favorably report out the bill. I now recognize ranking member Cantwell for a motion.

Mr. Chairman, I move that S-1748, the Kids Online Safety Act, as amended by the Blackburn substitute as modified, be favorably reported. Is there a second? Second.

Sen. Dan Sullivan — verbatim remarksIs there any discussion? Mr. Chairman. Senator Sullivan.

Sen. Dan Sullivan — verbatim remarksThank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to commend Senator Blackburn, Senator Blumenthal on the Kids Online Safety Act. I was an original co-sponsor of this very important legislation.

Sen. Dan Sullivan — verbatim remarksI want to thank the parents and families that are also here supporting this. This is a bill we must move. And as Senator Cantwell mentioned, this moved out of the Senate last year, or two years ago, with over 90 votes. And then it was killed in the House by some of the big tech influencers that don't want to see this bill become law.

Sen. Dan Sullivan — verbatim remarksI have an amendment at the desk, Mr. Chairman, that would incorporate into this bill my Advancing Digital Support for Mental Health Services Act, or ADDS for Mental Health Act, which is a bipartisan bill. This committee approved unanimously last year, and then the Senate approved unanimously last year. The amendment takes a simple, complimentary approach to protecting young people online, using the reach of these tech platforms to connect young people with help and resources.

Sen. Dan Sullivan — verbatim remarksThe Ads for Mental Health Act would require social media platforms to report annually to the FTC on the amount of public service advertising they provide, which is actually not much. That transparency creates greater accountability and an incentive for these platforms to put mental health resources and potentially life-saving information in front of their users. We should make sure that when people encounter online platforms, they have access to trusted mental health resources and local support services. Someone who is struggling should be able to find not only information about getting help, but resources available within their own community.

Sen. Dan Sullivan — verbatim remarksAnd as we work through KOSA, and again, I want to commend Senator Blackburn, Senator Blumenthal and so many others to make the Internet safer for children. My amendment would help ensure that when young people are struggling, they are more likely to encounter messages that point them towards getting help rather than being harmed. So I know we want to move a clean KOSA bill out of the committee today. And as we put together a broader kids safety package on the Senate floor and work with the House in conference on this important piece of legislation, I'm hopeful that my ads for mental health amendment would be included in this broader kids online safety legislation.

And with that, Mr. Chairman, I will withdraw my amendment. Mr. Chairman.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn — verbatim remarksSenator Blackburn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate Senator Sullivan's work with us on this.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn — verbatim remarksHe and I have discussed this amendment and his desire to move forward his legislation, which we all voted for in committee and we voted for when it was on the floor. He has my commitment to continue to advocate as we build out a broader kids' online safety package including some of the bills that we going to pass today but to advocate for passage and inclusion of his bill Thank you, Senator Blackburn. Thank you, and I will echo that sentiment. Senator Sullivan's amendment is a good amendment.

It is a positive amendment. As he rightly noted, it has passed this committee previously. It has passed the Senate previously. And I am happy to work with him to try to get it passed signed into law because it would be beneficial to the people of Alaska and to people all across our nation.

Thank you Mr. Chairman. If there is no further discussion the question is on Senator Cantwell's motion. All those in favor say aye.

Aye. All those opposed say no. The ayes have it. The motion is agreed to and the bill is ordered to be reported favorably.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis — verbatim remarksMr. Chairman. Senator Lummis. I would ask that we give permission for those parents of children who have been lost because of online activity to just stand up and tell us their child's first name so we can acknowledge and honor the loss that these families have experienced. and to express to them our deepest sorrow for your loss and our desire to move forward with legislation to prevent other parents and family members from dealing with the pain that you all are dealing with.

I think that's a good suggestion, and if the parent advocates wish to do so, you're certainly welcome to do so now. And we honor your children's legacy. And thank you for using the pain and agony and suffering that you've experienced. Thank you for channeling it into trying to protect other kids.

Thank you, Senator Lummis. I recognize ranking member Cantwell for an additional motion Mr Chairman I move that S4199 the Youth AI Privacy Act as amended by the Markey substitute, as modified Budd 1, Lummis 1, and Lummis 2, be favorably reported. Is there a second? Is there any discussion?

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksI'm going to offer Cruz 1 as modified. This amendment is straightforward. It would empower parents to make decisions for their children. Although I appreciate Senator Markey's work to improve this bill, one significant problem remains.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksThe bill imposes a one-size-fits-all limit on how long a chatbot may remember its interactions with a child, capping overall memory retention at 30 days. A default period for memory retention makes sense. But parents must also be able to choose a different period or opt out of automatic deletion. Long term memory can make these tools more useful in certain circumstances.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksFor example, when a child is learning a language or a teenager is managing a small business. At the very least, the federal government should not forcibly substitute its judgment for that appearance. My amendment preserves both the default and parental choice, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr.

Sen. Ed Markey — verbatim remarksChairman? Senator Markey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Sen. Ed Markey — verbatim remarksFirst of all, I just want to thank you and Ranking Member Cantwell for your work to help to protect kids online, and for your support for advancing my Youth AI Privacy Act, the YAP Act, and I can't thank you enough. and to all the family members who are here, we're just so sorry for your loss. Just absolutely terrible. That's why we're meeting today for you. And I appreciate the Chairman's work with me.

Sen. Ed Markey — verbatim remarksBut on this amendment, I do oppose it. The Youth AI Privacy Act, as originally introduced, directed the Federal Trade Commission to establish limits on how long an AI chatbot could use a minor's personal data to shape its responses. Those limits prevent a chatbot from endlessly drawing on a child's responses to personalized future conversations Extended highly personalized interactions can deepen a child emotional attachment to a chatbot and make safety safeguards less effective As part of our substitute amendment, I agree to remove the Federal Trade Commission rulemaking and allow a parent through verifiable parental consent to extend the memory period up to 30 days. This amendment would remove that 30-day ceiling.

Sen. Ed Markey — verbatim remarksThe amendment would permit the ongoing use of all minors' personal disclosures about relationships and fears and health, emotional state and vulnerabilities to shape future responses without a meaningful outer limit. The companies will have every incentive to push families towards the longest possible setting by marketing it as more convenient, more personalized, or necessary for the chatbot to truly know the child. The 30-day limit is a reasonable guardrail against effectively having a permanent memory for minors. I urge a no vote, but I say that saying that I would also be open to a continuing discussion with the chairman on this issue.

But for this moment, I would urge a no vote. Is there any further discussion? Mr. Chairman, just speaking in support of Senator Markey's position, the longer kids interact with the chat box, the more data the chat box can collect, the more manipulative the chat box can become.

And I understand that 30 days may not necessarily have been the perfect day, but allowing unlimited chat box memory is too dangerous. And so I support Senator Markey. I want to say that the parents groups also support Senator Markey in opposing Senator Cruz's amendment. I think that point is generally correct, but I also think that parents know their kids best and ought to be able to make decisions for their own children as appropriate for their kids.

If there is no further discussion, the clerk will call the roll. Mr. Thune? Aye, by proxy.

Mr. Wicker? Aye. Mrs.

Fischer? Mr. Moran? Aye, by proxy.

Mr. Sullivan? Aye. Mrs.

Blackburn. Aye. Mr. Young.

Aye. Mr. Budd. Mr.

Schmitt. Aye. Aye by proxy. Mr.

Curtis. Aye. Mr. Moreno.

Aye by proxy. Mr. Sheehy. Aye.

Mrs. Capito. Aye. Ms.

Lummis. Aye. Ms. Cantwell.

No. No by proxy. Mr. Schatz.

No. Mr. Markey. No.

Mr. Peters. No. Ms.

Baldwin. No. Ms. Duckworth.

No. Ms. Rosen. No.

Mr. Lujan. Mr. Hickenlooper.

No by proxy. Mr. Fetterman. No by proxy.

Mr. Kim. No by proxy. Ms.

Blunt Rochester. No. Mr. Cruz.

Aye. The ayes are 15 and noes are 13. The amendment is agreed to. If there's no further discussion, the question is on Senator Cantwell's motion.

All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed say no.

The motion is agreed to and the bill is ordered to be reported favorably. I recognize Senator, ranking member Cantwell for an additional motion. Mr. Chairman, I move that S4407, the chatbot act, as amended by the Cruz-Schatz-Curtis substitute, as modified, Kim 1 as modified and Kim 2 as modified, and S5171, the Children's Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act of 2026, as amended by the Duckworth substitute as modified, be favorably reported.

Is there a second? All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say no.

The motion is agreed to and the bills are ordered to be reported favorably. I ask for unanimous consent that staff are authorized to make technical and conforming changes without objection so ordered. Are there members wishing to make remarks on agenda items? Yes, Mr.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn — verbatim remarksChairman. Mr. Chairman. Senator Blackburn.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn — verbatim remarksThank you, Mr. Chairman. I am really pleased we have moved the Kids Online Safety Act today and I'm so pleased that we have so many of the parent advocates that are here with us today. And you mentioned how they have turned their grief into action, and Senator Blumenthal and I are really grateful for the amount of time they have spent with us.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn — verbatim remarksThis has been a years-long process, and I know it gets frustrating sometimes. And as we have worked to find the best way to bring this bill forward. Now many of you have mentioned it went through the Senate last year 91 to 3 and we are grateful that it is moving forward again I think one of the important things that we seeing today is we sending a message to big tech that the era of big tech profiting off of our children is over. And Congress is moving forward to make certain that they have to accept responsibility for the foreseeable harms that their products cause.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn — verbatim remarksAnd some of these companies have come to the table to work with us and to move KOSA forward, And some are continuing to turn a blind eye to the harm that they are inflicting. So pardon me, I think the message to those tech companies is simply this. We have arrived at a time where we are going to pass this. We are going to get it signed into law, and we will do it in spite of all the money that they have spent opposing this legislation.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn — verbatim remarksThe bill does have, and I wanted to point this out, 75 co-sponsors in the Senate. And we are looking forward to making certain that our friends over in the House realize the support that this has in this body and that the House has an opportunity and also a responsibility to finish the job. Now, the Senate cannot and will not accept the version that the House passed earlier. It is toothless, and it is a very pale imitation of the Senate version, and therefore it is a pale imitation of big tech accountability.

And the parents have waited a long time. I am grateful the Senate Commerce Committee has again spoken on this issue and appreciate the leadership the chairman has brought to the issue Thank you Mr Chairman Thank you Senator Duckworth Thank you Mr Chairman I ask to recognize to offer brief remarks on S5171, the Children's Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act. I'm pleased that this bill has passed, that we in this chamber has passed a simple bipartisan bill and I thank Senators Murkowski, Klobuchar and Curtis for co-sponsoring the bill. AI chatbots such as chat GPT are being embedded in children's toys, including plush animals, robots, and dolls, which are then marketed to young kids.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth — verbatim remarksAlarmingly, independent testing of these AI-enabled toys, often equipped with speakers and microphones, found them discussing sexually explicit content and explaining where to find knives and pills in the household. One example even showed a toy telling the user where to find matches and providing instructions on how to light those matches. Despite these findings, sellers of AI-enabled toys claim that their products are providing social and educational benefits for children. But the fact is, we know little about the impacts of embedding AI chatbots in children's toys.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth — verbatim remarksAnd there currently is no federal safety standard that addresses the AI inside a toy. Current mandatory standards cover only physical hazards such as choking, lead, and flammability. In fact, the Consumer Product Safety Commission testified to Congress that it lacks authority to intervene in emotional, mental, and social injury, even if the potential risk is right in front of us. In addition to unfounded claims of educational benefits, sellers do not consistently inform consumers about how children's data privacy will be protected.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth — verbatim remarksAnd earlier this year, I asked the FTC to investigate whether AI-enabled toys are being marketed using unfair or deceptive practices. I have not yet received a response. The bipartisan Children's AI Toys Safety Act addresses these policy gaps by requiring the FTC and CPSC to provide Congress a coordinated, actionable plan to address AI-enabled toy products. My bill also tasks the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a comprehensive study into AI-enabled toys, including examining potential risk to children's data privacy and their physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being.

This study will finally deliver the independent evidence families need to make informed decisions for their children. This bill does not intrude into our preempt state law or preempt state laws in any way, and it allows CPSC and FTC to act now instead of waiting for the conclusion of a study It strikes the right balance of empowering consumers and protecting our children development and well on an emerging complex issue I thank the chairman the ranking member and my colleagues for voting in support of this bipartisan common sense bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Sen. John Curtis — verbatim remarksThank you. Senator Curtis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Sen. John Curtis — verbatim remarksAs we all know, the digital world is changing faster than parents can keep up with it, and our kids are growing up in an online environment that that barely existed a few years ago. My wife and I raised six children, and we thought it was complicated when we raised them, and now I have expected my 19th grandchild in a couple of weeks. And I can't fathom what they have to navigate to get through this environment. The bills we advance today are an important step toward giving families the tools and transparency they need to keep their kids safe.

Sen. John Curtis — verbatim remarksI want to thank the chairman, ranking member Cantwell, and everyone who worked together in good faith to get us here. I'm especially proud to be a co-lead sponsor of the Chatbot Act with Chairman Cruz, Senator Schatz, and Schiff. Chairman Cruz was collaborative throughout this process and incorporated several ideas Senator Schiff and I advanced in our Safe Kids Act. I'm also proud to be a partner with Senator Lee on the Screen Act and commit to work with him and my other colleagues to advance that onto the Senate floor.

Sen. John Curtis — verbatim remarksWe have to get this right. That means protecting children without stifling innovation, empowering parents without leaving them on their own, writing laws that will still make sense years from now. But our work isn't finished today. I'm continuing to push to advance bipartisan bills from my colleagues and to hold platforms accountable for their harms and products they create.

Help users distinguish authentic content from AI slop and close loopholes that allow youth to access content they shouldn't see. Parents shouldn't have to carry this burden alone. Platforms have a responsibility, Congress has a responsibility, and we should keep working together to build a safer digital world for our kids. Today's votes are meaningful progress, but they're not the finish line.

Thank you very much. Ms. Chairman. Senator Kappa.

Ms. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank Senator Cantwell, too, for her advocacy in this area.

I'm sitting close to a lot of the parent advocates, and the pain and the suffering never goes away and the sorrow. And so as a parent myself, I just can't imagine, when you put your head on the pillow at night, the disturbing thoughts that you have every night. I think this is a really important, important day, not just for you all, but for the rest of the country. So I want to thank you.

I've been an original co-sponsor of the Kids Online Safety Act. Unimaginable to me that we could pass it, which it's a large margin, and still not get it across the finish line. Senator Curtis trumped me with his, what did he say, 19 grandchildren. So now I have nine.

I thought that was pretty good. But it's a good start. I'll inform my three children that's a start. But when I watch them and I see what's in front of them, and I can only imagine in 10 years what's going to be in front of them again.

Some of them are still quite young. And we've had a lot of hearings on the addictive nature and how things creep into your feet and what the schools are doing. So this is really probably, I think, the most important part is the safety part. So the guardrails on the platforms are frequently used by children.

We need to have these guardrails to protect them and shield them. If the pushback is we can't do it or it's too complicated from the online folks, quite honestly, we don't believe you. We don't believe that. And I think our overwhelming vote today shows that.

And so we can better safeguard our youth and filter out violent, sexual, and deceptive content that they may encounter. As technology and access to materials continues to evolve, this bill will help our Congress stay up to date. That's another problem. Everything changes so rapidly and so quickly that the emerging risks are very difficult to see, so I want to thank Senator Blackburn in particular and Senator Blumenthal for their continued dedication to this issue but I particularly want to thank all of you for coming and being here with us today and let's push this all the way across the finish line.

Thank you Mr. Chair. Mr. Chairman.

Ranking Member Cantwell. I ask unanimous consent for a change to the record of the last executive session. I ask consent that we strike the recorded vote for Senator Kim on the Aviation Innovation and Global Competitiveness Act. He wishes to be recorded as a yes along with a voice vote.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksWithout objection the change will be made. I want to again thank the parent advocates. We've now passed KOSA again unanimously out of this committee. I'm confident we will We'll pass it on the Senate floor.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksAnd then we will continue the hard work and negotiations with the House to get it over the finish line and to the president's desk. I believe we'll get there, but there's more work to be done. And I know all of y'all will be actively involved, as will Senator Blackburn, as will I. And we'll get there.

Chairman Ted Cruz — verbatim remarksBut thank you for your hard work. And with that, that concludes our executive session for today. The committee is adjourned.