Meta, Google Online Child Safety Rules Advanced by House Panel

A key House committee on Thursday advanced a package of bills aimed at improving children’s safety online, injecting fresh momentum for a light-touch US effort as countries race to create new protections for minors on social media.

The package, which combines 12 bills, marks the committee’s most serious effort this year to regulate platforms including Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and TikTok Inc. as the companies face legal scrutiny over online harms to children. The tech industry has vigorously fought similar legislation in the past.