Congress wants to regulate video games. The industry beat them to it.

Published March 19, 2026 10:00am ET



In the name of protecting children online, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act this month. The bill would dictate how social media platforms and AI chatbots serve content to minors, including a requirement that video game developers provide parental controls by default. The only problem: The parental controls that the bill mandates already exist.

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), whose Safer GAMING Act was absorbed into the sprawling 12-bill package, took credit for devising the parental safeguards. 

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