A congressional committee has approved a bill aimed at protecting children online that could create complications for advertisers trying to promote legal marijuana and other regulated substances.
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, sponsored by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), the chair of the panel, in a 28-24 vote.
This comes about three months after a similar proposal from Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) advanced through a subcommittee, while a Senate companion version awaits action.
Under the latest legislation, online platforms would be prohibited from facilitating the “advertising of narcotic drugs, cannabis products, tobacco products, gambling, or alcohol to an individual that the covered platform knows is a minor.”
The provision around drug use lists the “distribution, sale, or use of narcotic drugs, tobacco products, cannabis products, gambling, or alcohol” as risks that platforms would need to actively guard minors against.
One section that was in prior iterations of the bill that seems to have been omitted from this latest version had stipulated that video streaming platforms would be required “to employ measures that safeguard against serving advertising for narcotic drugs, cannabis products, tobacco products, gambling, or alcohol directly
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