Sullivan plans to add an ad-transparency bill to kids' safety package

Sen. Dan Sullivan plans to attach his own bill to a youth online safety package moving through the Senate — a measure that would require digital advertising platforms to disclose more about the public-service ads they run and to point users toward mental health resources.

Sullivan's ADS for Mental Health Act would make covered ad platforms file annual reports with the Federal Trade Commission on the public-service ads they carry — how many, what share of their advertising, the estimated dollar value, and the subject matter. He casts it as a transparency measure — more visibility into social media advertising aimed at kids, plus a push for platforms to surface mental health help. The Senate passed the bill on its own in March; Sullivan now wants to fold it into the larger package.

That package cleared the Senate Commerce Committee this week, built around the Kids Online Safety Act, which Sullivan co-sponsored. His office describes those bills as giving parents and young users new controls and holding social media companies accountable for harmful content. Versions of the effort have passed the Senate before — a related kids-safety bill cleared with 91 votes in 2024 — only to stall in the House, where Sullivan, who is running for re-election this year, is again pressing colleagues to act. Online child safety has been among his higher-profile issues.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center and allied groups have argued that layering new reporting requirements onto a package built around platform design could bog it down. Sullivan's announcement did not include those views.