S. 278, Kids Off Social Media Act

Bill Summary

S. 278 would prohibit social media platforms from allowing children to create accounts and from recommending certain content to children or teens based on their personal data. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would be required to enforce those prohibitions.

The bill also would require schools to block access to social media on school-provided services, networks, and devices as a condition of receiving discounted broadband service through the E-Rate program of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC would be required to enforce that requirement. Finally, S. 278 would direct the FCC to collect information from schools about their Internet safety policies and establish a public database of those policies.

Estimated Federal Cost

The estimated costs fall within budget function 370 (commerce and housing credit).

Basis of Estimate

CBO assumes that S. 278 will be enacted before the end of fiscal year 2025.

Spending Subject to Appropriation

Using information from the affected agencies, CBO estimates that implementing S. 278 would cost $4 million over the 2025-2030 period; any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

CBO estimates that the FTC would need three additional lawyers and technologists in its Bureau of Consumer Protection to enforce violations at a cost of about $235,000 per employee in 2025. On that basis, and accounting for anticipated inflation, CBO estimates that it would cost the FTC $4 million over the 2025-2030 period to implement the requirements in the bill.

CBO estimates that it would cost the FCC less than $500,000 to provide guidance to E-Rate recipients and to establish and maintain the public database. Because the FCC is authorized to collect fees each year sufficient to offset the appropriated costs of its regulatory activities, CBO estimates that the net cost to the FCC would be negligible, assuming appropriation actions consistent with that authority.

Direct Spending and Revenues

In total, CBO estimates that enacting S. 278 would increase revenues and direct spending by an insignificant amount over the 2025-2035 period.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), which administers the E-Rate program on behalf of the FCC, already oversees compliance with E-Rate policies as part of its normal duties; therefore, S. 278 would not create substantial new responsibilities. In addition, CBO expects that many schools already block social media access under current policy, and that schools would generally comply with the new requirements under the bill. Therefore, CBO estimates that any additional costs for USAC to oversee schools’ social media policies would be insignificant. Under current law, USAC levies assessments on telecommunications carriers to fund its operations; the collection of those assessments is recorded in the budget as revenue and the spending of those assessments is classified as direct spending. On that basis, CBO estimates that the increase in the deficit from increases in revenues and direct spending would be negligible.

The bill would authorize the FTC to collect civil monetary penalties from businesses found in violation of the bill, along with pursuing other remedies. Civil monetary penalties are generally remitted to the Treasury and recorded as revenues. CBO estimates that the additional revenues collected through 2035 would be insignificant.

The extent to which businesses would violate the new rules after they go into effect is uncertain. Furthermore, if a business does violate the new rules and the FTC chooses to proceed with an enforcement action, the extent to which the agency pursues civil penalties versus other remedies is also uncertain, as is the amount of time it would take to resolve a case.

Pay-As-You-Go Considerations

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would increase direct spending and revenues by less than $500,000 in every year and over the 2025-2035 period.

Increase in Long-Term Net Direct Spending and Deficits

CBO estimates that enacting S. 278 would increase net direct spending by an insignificant amount in all of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036.

CBO estimates that enacting S. 278 would not increase on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036.

Mandates

The bill would impose intergovernmental and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). CBO estimates that the total cost of those mandates would not exceed the thresholds established in UMRA for intergovernmental and private-sector mandates ($103 million and $206 million in 2025, respectively, adjusted annually for inflation).

S. 278 would impose an intergovernmental mandate by preempting state laws governing access to social media platforms for people under the age of 17. Although the preemption would limit the application of state laws, it would impose no duty on state governments that would result in additional spending or loss of revenue.

The bill would impose private-sector mandates by prohibiting social media platforms from allowing children under the age of 13 to create and maintain accounts. Social media platforms also would be required to delete those accounts and supply a copy, upon request, of the personal data of that child user. In addition, social media platforms would be prohibited from using automated systems to promote content based on personal data for people under the age of 17. The incremental cost of the mandates would be small because social media platforms already voluntarily comply, or their current business practices would allow the platforms to easily comply with provisions of the bill.

If the FCC increases annual fee collections to offset the costs of implementing provisions in the bill, S. 278 would increase the cost of an existing private-sector mandate on entities required to pay those fees. CBO estimates that the incremental cost of the mandate would be small.

Federal Costs: David Hughes

Mandates: Rachel Austin

Estimate Reviewed By

Justin Humphrey
Chief, Finance, Housing, and Education Cost Estimates Unit

Kathleen FitzGerald
Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit

H. Samuel Papenfuss 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis