Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta (META)) has done a complete 180 on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). After helping to sink the bill two years ago over free speech concerns, the company is now backing it. What changed? The White House is using KOSA as a vehicle to override state artificial intelligence laws, and Meta sees an opportunity to shift some of the burden of child safety onto app stores.

The bill, as currently written, would require tech companies to put in place online safety measures for kids—things like restricting harmful design features and letting users opt out of suggested content. But the key provision that won Meta over is the one that overrides state AI laws and mandates age verification for app store platforms like Alphabet Inc.'s Google (Alphabet (GOOGL)) and Apple Inc. (Apple (AAPL)). That moves some responsibility away from social media companies and onto the app stores themselves.

This is a classic Washington compromise. Tech industry groups hate the patchwork of state laws, and legislators want to protect kids online. KOSA offers a federal solution that preempts state rules. Meta has been a vocal supporter of the App Store Accountability Act, arguing that app stores should verify users' ages. Apple and Google, not surprisingly, have privacy concerns about that mandate.

KOSA and the App Store Accountability Act had been stuck in the Senate for over a year, but they've seen a resurgence in the past week after the White House pushed to supersede state AI laws. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a co-sponsor of KOSA, told POLITICO he was unfamiliar with the details of the proposed package and expressed skepticism, saying the bill may be "significantly weakened."

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Global Push for Child Online Safety

This isn't just a U.S. story. On Monday, the UK proposed restrictions on social media access for users under 16. The ban would apply to platforms including Snap Inc.'s (Snap (SNAP)) Snapchat, TikTok, Alphabet's YouTube, Meta's Instagram and Facebook, and Elon Musk's X. The UK government hasn't released a final list yet.

Elon Musk slammed the move, calling the censorship law "a wolf in sheep's clothing." Canada also introduced new legislation to protect children online by limiting social media access for under-16s and increasing accountability for tech companies.

Meta has been under constant scrutiny over its safety practices for children and teens. In February, the company said it halted the launch of a chatbot product after internal testing revealed high failure rates in blocking harmful content involving minors. Court testimony in a lawsuit brought by New Mexico's attorney general cited red-teaming results showing the AI frequently failed to prevent child exploitation, crime-related, hate, and self-harm content. Meta disputed the allegations, saying the product was never launched precisely because the testing uncovered these concerns.