The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, designed to protect minors from age-inappropriate online content, will head to the House floor for a vote. But critics say that the bill could also be used to curb civil rights.

The Kids Online Safety Act was first introduced to the Senate in 2022 under President Joe Biden. It would require online platforms to offer settings that control how minors use the sites and also limit the collection of their personal data. 

However, opponents of the bill say that the definition of «harmful content» could extend to legitimate sites, including those concerning mental health and transgender rights. The American Civil Liberties Union warns that the legislation could affect the First Amendment’s protections of free speech.

«The overbroad language in KOSA and similar legislation risks censoring everything from jokes and hyperbole to useful information about sex ed and suicide prevention,» said the ACLU’s Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel.

The bill also directs federal agencies to study the feasibility of «creating a device- or operating system–level age verification system,» but it doesn’t require platforms to implement such a system.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee met on Thursday and advanced the legislation to the full House for consideration. However, lawmakers still need to set a specific calendar date for that floor vote.

The proposed legislation follows a global trend toward restricting the kinds of online material children have access to. Last year, the UK introduced its Online Safety Act, which requires platforms that host adult content or other age-inappropriate material to implement robust age-verification checks to prevent minors from accessing it.

On March 28, Indonesia will bar children under 16from accessing social media, following a similar ban in Australia. 

The interior of an airplane is a confined space where passengers have to endure everything from other travelers’ body odors to their loud snores. But they may no longer have to listen to another passenger’s music, games or movies, at least, not on United Airlines.

United has added a clause to its Rules of Transport that says it has the right to remove from the aircraft at any point any «passengers who fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content.»

A representative for United told CNET that the language was added on Feb. 27 and that «we’ve always encouraged customers to use headphones when listening to audio content — and our Wi-Fi rules already remind customers to use headphones.» 

Passengers without headphones can ask plane staff for a complimentary pair of wired headphones, subject to availability.

While this may not prevent people from using their devices without headphones, the policy change gives crew members legal authority to take action if someone ignores requests to turn off loud audio. 

The United representative added that, with the rollout of Starlink on United planes, «it seemed like a good time» to clarify travel terms as more people begin streaming. 

Depending on the severity of the offense, United says it can take steps ranging from invalidating the passenger’s ticket to deleting the passenger’s frequent flyer miles, to banning the passenger and taking them to court. 

But not all airplane rules involving courtesy and noise are regularly enforced. The rules also prohibit voice calls once the cabin doors are closed, yet passengers often continue phone conversations until takeoff without apparent enforcement.

United is one of the largest airlines in the US, coming in second behind Delta in The Points Guy’s 2025 ranking of the best airlines.