RESET Act / GUARDIAN Act
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- Became Law
Advanced as amended to full committee on September 1, 2026
Amended in subcommittee to require parental consent for processing under-16s' data, raising concerns about age checks and online privacy.
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Read the full billOfficial bill recordKey facts
- Where
- United States
- Bill number
- H.R.6488 (119th)
- Status
- In progress
- Introduced
- December 5, 2025
- Threat
- High
- Last update
- September 1, 2026
Topics
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What it does
The GUARDIAN substitute, adopted September 1, replaces the original RESET blanket account ban with parental consent for processing covered under-16s' personal data. Platforms must account for users they know or should have known are minors. It permits age determination with notice, security and deletion safeguards. Consent withdrawal triggers account termination. The FTC and states enforce the proposal.
What’s at stake
Making platforms responsible for identifying minors creates pressure to assess users' ages. Linking their participation to parental permission can restrict access to lawful expression. The substitute includes data safeguards and excludes liability based on speech content or viewpoint.
Our take
We oppose the amended proposal's pressure toward age checks and parental permission for online participation. The adopted substitute changes the mechanism substantially; the original blanket under-16 ban is no longer the operative subcommittee text.
Timeline
Introduced
Referred to committee
The record
Sponsor
Erin Houchin (R-IN)
Cosponsors (2)
Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Lance Gooden (R-TX)
Committee
Energy and Commerce Committee
Votes
- House subcommittee: GUARDIAN substitute adopted; H.R.6488 advanced as amended to full committee. Both agreed by voice vote., September 1, 2026. See every vote
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