House Committee Reviews Sammy's Law Requiring Big Social Media Platforms to Allow Parent-Approved Safety Apps

Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.

Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Introduced in House

FTC issues compliance guidance; the law becomes active on that same date

This is the starting gun. Once the FTC publishes the required guidance, the requirements can be enforced, and company deadlines start counting from there.

Large social media platforms have 30 days to provide real-time connection tools for registered safety companies

Within about a month after the law becomes active, parents and kids should begin seeing safety tools that can connect directly to major platforms (once a safety provider is registered).

FTC issues guidance on verifying that a request is really for a specific child account

This should reduce scams or fake “parent” requests by setting clearer ways to prove who is allowed to access a child’s account through a safety tool.

Ongoing: safety software providers complete annual independent audits and submit summaries the public can read

Families may be able to compare safety tools using public audit summaries, and companies that don’t meet security expectations could lose registration.

FTC performs compliance assessments twice per year

Expect periodic enforcement attention: platforms and safety companies may be pressured to fix gaps, which can improve reliability and safety over time.