A bipartisan child safety law that allows parents to delete personal information of kids online, limits the personal information sites can collect from teens, and bans targeted advertising to them passed the Senate 91-3 on Tuesday.

The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) "bans online companies from collecting personal information from users between 13 and 16 years old without their consent," co-sponsor Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said.

In addition, the bill "bans targeted advertising to children and teens and creates an eraser button for parents and kids to eliminate personal information online" and "establishes a Youth Marketing and Privacy Division at the FTC."

Another sponsor, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), encouraged the House to pass the legislation.

"Ready to move forward"

“We have broad bipartisan support in the House. I’ve talked with a lot of former House colleagues, and they are ready to move forward on this. They want a vote on the floor, so we’re encouraged by that and by support from leadership to move this forward,” Blackburn said in a statement.

Young teens are often sitting ducks for social media manipulation and ads that target them when they don't have defenses built up to withstand impulse buying and instant gratification.

Social media platforms make around $11 billion annually from users under 18, according to the Harvard Gazette.

“Although social media platforms may claim that they can self-regulate their practices to reduce the harms to young people, they have yet to do so, and our study suggests they have overwhelming financial incentives to continue to delay taking meaningful steps to protect children.” study author and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences professor Bryn Austin said.

YouTube had 49.7 million U.S.-based users under age 18; TikTok, 18.9 million; Snapchat, 18 million; Instagram, 16.7 million; Facebook, 9.9 million; and X, 7 million in 2022 when the study was conducted.

Cracking down

Some states are beginning to crack down on social media use among teens.

Utah banned children under 18 from creating social media accounts without their parents' consent in 2023, and Florida banned all teens under 13 from having them whether their parents agree or not.

In Florida and also Arkansas, measures are being put in place to require proof of age, and 14 and 15-year-olds would need parental permission to create social media accounts.

New York City recently declared social media a "public health hazard" and along with South Carolina is considering regulating algorithm usage that targets teens and children.

Now it looks like Congress might beat them to the punch.