A coalition of 40 state attorneys general is urging Congress to adopt the Senate's version of the Kids Online Safety Act, arguing it provides stronger protections for minors online. The National Association of Attorneys General sent a letter to congressional leadership endorsing S. 1748 over the House companion bill H.R. 6484.

S. 1748 would establish a federally enforceable "Duty of Care" requiring platforms to mitigate harms to minors, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. The bill directs federal agencies to study "technologically feasible methods" for device-level age verification, potentially embedding identity checks into hardware or operating systems. This architecture would move verification upstream of content access, creating persistent identity records.

The Senate approach preserves state enforcement authority while imposing federal standards, addressing concerns about federal preemption in the House version. Attorneys general argue social media companies deliberately target underage users and fail to disclose mental health risks. The coalition seeks expanded definitions of harm including suicide, eating disorders, and compulsive use, while maintaining their ability to pursue parallel litigation under state law.