119-HR-6289 Corporate Impact Analysis

Summary

H.R. 6289 (Promoting a Safe Internet for Minors Act) would replace portions of the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act to require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to run a nationwide online‑safety education and public‑awareness program for minors, coordinate best practices, and file annual reports for 10 years. The bill sets a 180‑day implementation deadline, defines “minor” as under 17 for the program, and identifies the FTC as “the Commission.” It does not change COPPA’s core rule (coverage of users under 13) or impose new product or age‑verification mandates. [1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…[2]Federal Trade Commission — FTC – Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COP…[3]Federal Trade Commission — FTC Business Guidance: COPPA Rule (Not Just for Kids…

As of December 14, 2025, Congress.gov lists the bill as introduced and referred to House Energy & Commerce; no CBO cost estimate is posted. [4]Congress.gov — Congress.gov – H.R. 6289 Actions (All actions without amendments)[5]Congress.gov — Congress.gov – H.R. 6289 All Information (CBO Cost Estimates [0])

Economic Effects

Direct regulatory cost appears limited; impacts center on coordination costs for partners and potential procurement for content development and evaluation. [1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…

• Regulatory burden/compliance: No new enforceable obligations on platforms or advertisers; COPPA’s under‑13 consent regime remains unchanged. Expect negligible direct compliance costs relative to status quo. [1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…[2]Federal Trade Commission — FTC – Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COP…
• Soft‑law pressure and guidance: FTC‑led “best practices” and outreach can shape market norms without formal rulemaking, potentially influencing product settings and parental‑control surfacing; however, these are advisory, not binding. [1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…
• Procurement and partnerships: The FTC has historically produced large‑scale education materials (e.g., Net Cetera, >9 million copies), implying modest opportunities for creative, printing, digital media, and evaluation contracts if funded. This is an inference from prior campaigns, as H.R. 6289 contains no explicit grant authority. [6]Federal Trade Commission — FTC Press Release – Updated Net Cetera; >9.3M copies…[1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…
• Enforcement climate context (unchanged by the bill): COPPA enforcement continues independently; recent actions (e.g., Disney settlement; YouTube 2019; Epic/Amazon/Microsoft cases) signal ongoing legal risk for child‑directed content operators, but H.R. 6289 itself does not elevate liability. [7]Associated Press — AP News – Disney to pay $10 million fine after FTC says it a…[8]Federal Trade Commission — FTC – Kids’ Privacy (COPPA) topic page with enforcem…
• Budgetary visibility: As of December 14, 2025, Congress.gov shows no CBO score; fiscal impact depends on appropriations and reprogramming at the FTC. [5]Congress.gov — Congress.gov – H.R. 6289 All Information (CBO Cost Estimates [0])

Social Effects

Education and awareness can modestly improve knowledge and some behaviors, but evidence on sustained behavioral change is mixed; magnitude depends on curriculum design and dosage.

• Problem context: Youth social‑media use is near‑universal (about 95% of 13–17s), with heavy daily use on dominant platforms, underscoring the large addressable audience for safety messaging. [9]U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — U.S. Surgeon General – Social Medi…[10]Pew Research Center — Pew Research Center – Teens and Social Media Fact Sheet (…
• Evidence on interventions: Meta‑analyses find small but statistically significant reductions in cyberbullying perpetration (g≈−0.18) and victimization (g≈−0.13) from school‑based programs; design features (skill‑based, targeted content, empathy components) matter. [11]PubMed — Meta‑analysis: Interventions to Decrease Cyberbullying Perpetration an…[12]PubMed — Meta‑analysis: Effectiveness of Parent‑Related Interventions on Cyberb…[13]Office of Justice Programs (DOJ) — Meta‑analysis: Cyberbullying Prevention Prog…
• Digital citizenship curricula: A recent cluster RCT of a prominent curriculum increased knowledge and self‑efficacy but found no effects on several privacy/behavior outcomes at short follow‑up. [14]Contemporary School Psychology (Springer) — Cluster RCT Evaluation – Be Interne…
• Public‑health perspective: The Surgeon General warns current evidence cannot conclude social media is “sufficiently safe” for youth and flags risks at higher usage intensities—context that bolsters the rationale for non‑regulatory education. [9]U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — U.S. Surgeon General – Social Medi…
• Equity/targeting: Pew data show variations by gender, race/ethnicity, income, and community type in near‑constant use, suggesting tailored outreach to high‑intensity cohorts could yield greater marginal benefit. [15]Pew Research Center — Pew Research Center – Teens and Social Media Fact Sheet (…

Environmental Effects

Direct environmental impacts are minimal; delivery choices (digital‑first vs. print) determine footprint.

• If the campaign is primarily digital, incremental emissions are negligible relative to baseline teen usage; if substantial print runs are used, impacts rise accordingly (FTC previously distributed >9 million Net Cetera copies). [6]Federal Trade Commission — FTC Press Release – Updated Net Cetera; >9.3M copies…
• No provisions affect energy use, resource extraction, or e‑waste policies; any environmental effect is incidental to communication channels selected by the FTC. [1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…

Temporal Analysis

• Immediate (0–6 months): Program design, partner MOUs, content development, and launch to meet the 180‑day statutory deadline; low direct private‑sector compliance costs. [1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…
• Short term (6–24 months): Awareness lifts and knowledge gains are most likely, with potential small reductions in specific harms where skill‑based, targeted modules are applied in schools and communities. [16]Web search · turn 1 #2[11]PubMed — Meta‑analysis: Interventions to Decrease Cyberbullying Perpetration an…
• Long term (2–10 years): Sustained behavior change is uncertain without ongoing dosage and evidence‑based design; annual FTC reports could improve accountability and iteration of best practices. [1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…[17]Web search · turn 1 #7

Unintended Consequences and Secondary Effects

• Policy confusion risk: The bill’s program defines “minor” as under 17, but COPPA’s legal threshold remains under 13; some stakeholders may misinterpret this as expanding COPPA coverage, complicating compliance messaging. [1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…[2]Federal Trade Commission — FTC – Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COP…
• Duplication/fragmentation: DHS’s long‑running Stop.Think.Connect campaign illustrates that federal online‑safety messaging already exists; coordination failure could yield overlapping or inconsistent materials. [18]U.S. Department of Homeland Security — DHS – Launch of Stop. Think. Connect. Na…
• Soft‑law creep: Even nonbinding FTC guidance can reset expectations for product design and disclosures; firms may invest in precautionary UX and policy changes to mitigate perceived UDAP risk, incurring opportunity cost absent clear mandate. [3]Federal Trade Commission — FTC Business Guidance: COPPA Rule (Not Just for Kids…
• Implementation risk: With no posted CBO score and no explicit appropriation in text, execution scale may depend on available FTC resources or partner contributions, affecting campaign reach and evaluation quality. [5]Congress.gov — Congress.gov – H.R. 6289 All Information (CBO Cost Estimates [0])[1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…

Assessment

Overall stance: Neutral (analytical).

From a cost–benefit and competitive‑positioning perspective, H.R. 6289 functions as a low‑burden, coordination‑heavy education program rather than a regulatory expansion. It preserves COPPA’s existing scope, maintains the current enforcement environment, and could yield modest social benefits if implemented with evidence‑based, skill‑focused curricula and adequate dosage; environmental effects are negligible. Execution quality and inter‑agency coordination drive outcomes more than statutory language. [1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…[2]Federal Trade Commission — FTC – Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COP…[11]PubMed — Meta‑analysis: Interventions to Decrease Cyberbullying Perpetration an…

Key Sources

Select authoritative materials underpinning this analysis:

• Congress.gov bill text and status for H.R. 6289. [1]Congress.gov — Bill Text: H.R. 6289 (119th Congress) – Promoting a Safe Interne…[4]Congress.gov — Congress.gov – H.R. 6289 Actions (All actions without amendments)
• FTC COPPA rule and compliance guidance. [2]Federal Trade Commission — FTC – Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COP…[3]Federal Trade Commission — FTC Business Guidance: COPPA Rule (Not Just for Kids…
• FTC enforcement docket (recent COPPA cases). [8]Federal Trade Commission — FTC – Kids’ Privacy (COPPA) topic page with enforcem…
• U.S. Surgeon General advisory on social media and youth. [9]U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — U.S. Surgeon General – Social Medi…
• Pew Research Center teen social‑media data (2024–2025). [10]Pew Research Center — Pew Research Center – Teens and Social Media Fact Sheet (…[15]Pew Research Center — Pew Research Center – Teens and Social Media Fact Sheet (…
• Meta‑analyses and evaluations of online‑safety/cyberbullying interventions. [11]PubMed — Meta‑analysis: Interventions to Decrease Cyberbullying Perpetration an…[16]Web search · turn 1 #2[12]PubMed — Meta‑analysis: Effectiveness of Parent‑Related Interventions on Cyberb…[14]Contemporary School Psychology (Springer) — Cluster RCT Evaluation – Be Interne…
• DHS Stop.Think.Connect campaign (federal awareness precedent). [18]U.S. Department of Homeland Security — DHS – Launch of Stop. Think. Connect. Na…
• FTC Net Cetera distribution (education campaign scale). [6]Federal Trade Commission — FTC Press Release – Updated Net Cetera; >9.3M copies…