WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on a

broad bipartisan basis on Thursday advanced two online safety

bills that would force social media companies to take

responsibility for how their platforms affect children and

teens, a step parents and advocates have demanded for years.

The bills cleared a critical procedural hurdle 86-1, setting

the stage for a final vote next week.

"Big Tech, we no longer trust you to make decisions for us,"

said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, one of the bills'

sponsors. "Car manufacturers are required to install seatbelts

and airbags. The same has to be true of social media companies."

The bills' future is unclear in the Republican-controlled

House of Representatives, which has recessed until September.

The Kids Online Safety Act makes explicit a "duty of care"

that social media companies have when it comes to minors using

their products, focusing on design of the platforms and

regulation of the companies.

It would require social media platforms to enable options

for minors to protect their information and disable addictive

product features by default, preventing and mitigating dangers

to minors including suicide and disordered eating.

The Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act would

ban targeted advertising to minors and data collection without

their consent, and give parents and kids the option to delete

their information from social media platforms.

The bills, nicknamed KOSA and COPPA 2.0, respectively, are

the first major move to ensure children's safety online since

COPPA was initially passed in 1998, before the advent of

smartphones.

The bills would also allow researchers greater insight into

companies' algorithms and how they impact children online, said

Kris Perry, executive director of Children and Screens, a

research nonprofit focused on the impact of digital media on

minors.

"We've been in a decade-long experiment with children's

well-being and platforms, and it's overdue to make the products

safer and allow us to move to a new stage of deeper

understanding of children's digital lives," Perry said.

Some tech companies have publicly backed congressional

efforts to protect children online, with major players including

Microsoft Corp ( MSFT ) and Snap Inc ( SNAP ) expressing

support.

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms ( META )

spokesperson Stephanie Otaway said that while the company

supports standards for kids and teens online, federal law should

instead require app stores to seek parental approval for

downloads by users under age 16.

The Biden administration on Thursday backed the bills it

said "would finally advance bold actions to hold Big Tech

accountable," urging lawmakers to send it to Biden to sign into

law "without delay."