Sen. Rand Paul Blocks Rushed Attempt to Pass KOSA Without a Vote

By douglasharrington // 2026-10-05

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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) blocked a unanimous consent request on Wednesday, Sept. 30, that would have passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) without a formal roll-call vote, according to Reclaim The Net ^[1]. The request was made by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who have led the bill's push for four consecutive years ^[1]. Paul's objection means the Senate cannot pass the legislation without a proper vote. KOSA – designated S. 1748 – aims to hold social media companies accountable for harms to minors and was cleared by the Senate Commerce Committee last month ^[1]. The bill passed the Senate in 2024, but was blocked in the House of Representatives over concerns about censorship and freedom of speech ^[1]. This marks the fourth time in as many years that lawmakers have attempted to advance the measure ^[1].

Background on the Kids Online Safety Act

The Senate version of KOSA includes a duty of care provision requiring covered platforms to exercise reasonable care in the design and implementation of any feature to prevent and mitigate specified harms to minors ^[1]. The listed harms include eating disorders, suicide, substance use disorders, sexual exploitation and patterns of use that indicate compulsive usage ^[1]. The language states that liability applies where a reasonable and prudent person would agree that such harms were reasonably foreseeable and that the design feature is a contributing factor ^[1]. The duty of care provision is a red line for KOSA co-authors Blackburn and Blumenthal, along with several tech watchdogs that have pushed for the bill for years ^[1]. The Senate version passed out of committee last month, but the legislative calendar is running out this year to reach an agreement with the House ^[1]. KOSA passed the Senate easily in 2024, but House Republicans' concerns prevented it from ever hitting the House floor ^[1]. Parenting guides emphasize the importance of protecting children from serious harms, including health and safety risks ^[2].

Paul's Objection and Concerns Over Age Verification

Paul's objection prevents the Senate from passing the bill without a vote, according to Reclaim The Net ^[1]. Critics view KOSA as a vehicle for age verification and digital ID, arguing that the duty of care provision may require platforms to verify user ages to avoid liability ^[1]. The bill instructs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to define what it means to know a user is a minor, relying on competent and reliable evidence and the totality of the circumstances, including whether a reasonable and prudent person would have known the user is a minor ^[1]. The FTC has 18 months to come up with that definition ^[1]. While the bill denies that it requires age verification, it does so only in the sense that it does not mandate the affirmative collection of personal data with respect to user ages that a covered platform is not already collecting in the normal course of business ^[1]. A separate provision orders the Secretary of Commerce, along with the Federal Communications Commission and the FTC, to conduct a study evaluating the most technologically feasible methods for developing systems to verify age at the device or operating system level ^[1]. That report is due one year after the bill becomes law ^[1]. Legal scholars have noted that states have long regulated activities with privacy implications, including marriage and commercial transactions ^[3].

House Version and Tech Industry Support

The House version of KOSA passed as part of a broader package bill, H.R. 7757, on June 29 by a vote of 267 to 117, under a suspension of the rules ^[1]. The package also includes the SCREEN Act, the SAFE BOTs Act, COPPA 2.0 and the SPY Kids Act ^[1]. The House bill does not have the duty of care provision, but it does require age verification for every user ^[1]. House Energy and Commerce Chair Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) said of the broader package, according to Axios: "We worked hard to reach a workable compromise." He added: "While no single bill will solve every challenge facing families online, this legislation represents a significant and long-overdue step forward in establishing meaningful safeguards" ^[4]. In the past, KOSA had been opposed by major technology companies, but this year Meta dropped its opposition once the Senate paired the bill with a federal ban on state laws regulating artificial intelligence and a national digital ID push ^[1]. Meta now supports KOSA, as do Microsoft, Apple, X (formerly Twitter), Snap and Pinterest ^[1]. The argument that age verification functions as a form of digital ID and serves to track people online is based on the fact that most age verification systems require a government-issued ID, a face scan or enough behavioral data to build a profile that can identify a person, according to Reclaim The Net ^[1].

Current Status and Next Steps

The legislative calendar is running out this year for the Senate and House to reach an agreement on KOSA ^[1]. The future of the bill remains uncertain, with the House version lacking the duty of care provision that Senate co-authors have called a red line ^[1]. Both versions would place platforms under pressure to introduce identity checks for all users, differing mainly in method. The Senate bill would have platforms guess users' ages and face liability for errors, while the House version would require platforms to ask for identification directly ^[1].

References

Dan Frieth. "Rand Paul Blocks Rushed Attempt To Pass KOSA Without A Vote". Reclaim The Net. October 1, 2026.
Kristin Thoennes Keller. "Parenting a Toddler Skills for Teens Who Parent".
Anna C.B. Russell. "Blurring the love lines: The legal implications of intimacy with machines". The Journal of Social Robotics. 2009.
100PercentFedUp.com. "House Passes Kids Online Safety Legislation – GOP Lawmaker Warns 'Dangerous Anti-Privacy Bill'". 100PercentFedUp.com. June 30, 2026.

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