What Happened?

Rules governing what social media platforms must do to protect children online are still being worked out in Congress, and Meta Platforms Inc. spent $6,802,500 lobbying federal officials in the third quarter as that debate continues. The company filed 20 third-quarter lobbying disclosures covering cybersecurity, content policy, and digital services taxes. ​

Meta's in-house team accounted for $5.88 million of that total, down $110,000 from the second quarter.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

Two overlapping federal bills would set new online safety and privacy rules for platforms used by children and teenagers.

The House passed the KIDS Act, which would create new online safety requirements for platforms used by children and teenagers. The Senate passed the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, also known as COPPA 2.0, which would expand federal privacy protections for minors, restrict targeted advertising aimed at children, and limit collection of their personal information. The two bills address overlapping issues but contain different rules, and neither has become law.

Both Sides, Now

In August, Meta and state officials reached a settlement in a child-safety lawsuit after a trial began; the litigation concerns alleged harms associated with Meta's platforms.

The American Civil Liberties Union urged the House to vote against the KIDS Act, arguing its requirement for platforms to act against broadly described harms could remove protected speech and create privacy risks. A bipartisan group of 44 attorneys general also sent congressional leaders a letter opposing the bill, warning it would limit states' ability to address online harms, according to the National Association of Attorneys General.

Meta's third-quarter lobbying disclosures also list digital services taxes among the issues it covered.

What Happens Next?

Neither the House-passed KIDS Act nor the Senate-passed COPPA 2.0 bill has completed the legislative process, and the two chambers' proposals remain distinct and unresolved. Congress holds the power to act: both chambers would need to agree on a single bill and pass it before it could be signed into law.

Will lawmakers bridge the gap between the two proposals before the end of this congressional session?

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