In the name of protecting children online, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act this month. The bill would dictate how social media platforms and AI chatbots serve content to minors, including a requirement that video game developers provide parental controls by default. The only problem: The parental controls that the bill mandates already exist.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), whose Safer GAMING Act was absorbed into the sprawling 12-bill package, took credit for devising the parental safeguards.
“My new bill would add critical parental controls, giving parents the option to turn off chat functions and prevent unsafe interactions with adults and strangers,” he said upon introducing the stand-alone bill in November. But that’s not strictly true. Parents already have access to these tools. Kean’s novel contribution to the child safety space is requiring developers to exercise due diligence on parents’ behalf.
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Console makers and game developers offer tools to limit in-game communication alike. Parents can toggle communication settings on PlayStation, Xbox, and the Nintendo Switch’s respective “Family” apps on their phones. In fact, console makers preemptively limit communications for child accounts.
Major game developers offer the same. Electronic Arts, known for its sports titles, does not grant users under 13 access to online play or social features. Epic Games, the Fortnite publisher, disables multiplayer communication until a guardian verifies their identity. And Roblox mandated that all users complete a facial age-estimation check to secure its communication policy — the first gaming platform to do so.
The bill also requires game publishers to restrict financial transactions and screen time for minors. Of course, these additional safeguards are equally superfluous.
A child must ask their parent for their bank information to complete online purchases. People under 18 cannot open bank accounts independently — meaning parents co-own them, serve as custodians, or explicitly authorize their creation. In both scenarios, parental oversight is built in. Again, platform providers and game developers block child accounts from authorizing transactions. The KIDS Act adds no additional security layer.
Screen time limiters are built into every major device and console. Apple has a built-in Screen Time feature that lets users set daily time limits for specific apps or entire app categories. Parents can lock these settings behind a passcode. They can also set these limits on the same console parental control app used to block online communication. Of course, none of these tools replace the oldest parental control of all — taking the controller away.
The bill’s backers are resonating with parents who struggle to keep pace with their digital-native children. But the Entertainment Software Rating Board has offered families guidance since 1994, without a single federal mandate.
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The ESRB is the gaming industry’s self-regulatory body, founded after Congress threatened to regulate video games following high-profile hearings on Mortal Kombat’s morbid gameplay. And parents use it: 83% of parents whose children play video games are aware of the ESRB’s age ratings, and more than three-quarters check them before buying a game at least most of the time. Why does Congress insist on mandating what families already manage?
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), the bill’s author, insists “this isn’t a moment for politics” and that “children across the nation deserve” online safety. He’s right — it’s a moment for parenting. Parents, not Washington, should decide how their children play video games.
Daniel Idfresne is a student at Syracuse University, a Young Voices Senior Contributor, and a former intern for “The Story with Martha MacCallum.” Find him on Instagram and X.
