Advocates split on how Kids Online Safety Act would protect young people
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Federal lawmakers say the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) could protect young people on the internet, but some worry it could have unintended negative consequences.
Why it matters: Proponents of the bill say the tighter restrictions on tech platforms would safeguard against cyber bullying, sexual exploitation and constant scrolling, but others argue the limits would prevent young LGBTQ+ people from finding online community support and resources.
Driving the news: The U.S. Senate passed the bill 91-3 on July 30. Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth both supported it.
- The three senators who voted against it said the law is a form of censorship.
State of play: The law would restrict tech companies' access to minors' personal data, give guardians more ways to supervise their kids' online activity, and ban companies from advertising age-restricted products like tobacco.
- Senators crafted the bill after a whistleblower for Meta said the company knows it has been feeding content to young people that could lead to negative body images, the Washington Post reported.
Zoom in: Chicago parents Rose and Rob Bronstein, who started the organization Buckets Over Bullying after their 15-year-old son died by suicide after he being cyberbullied, have been advocating for the bill's passage.
- "Buckets Over Bullying applauds the Senate for passing the Kids Online Safety Act which will provide urgently needed protection for our children from the many dangers and pervasive harms fueled by social media. We urge the House of Representatives to quickly follow suit and pass this bill. We cannot wait any longer for meaningful reform. Our children's lives depend on it," The Bronsteins told Axios in a statement.
The other side: Some opponents of KOSA fear the restrictions will block young people from affirming content about sexuality, gender and mental health, because it would involve the same keywords being used to block negative content.
- "If a content filter is trained to detect and prevent recommendation of content with the hashtag #thinspo or #skinnygirlhacks, for example, [it's] likely to remove not only content that uses those hashtags to promote an eating disorder, but also content that condemns eating disorders," the ACLU and other groups wrote in a letter to Congress.
- A bisexual woman from Michigan, who started using social media at age 11, said the internet allowed her to explore sex and gender.
Between the lines: The bill's co-sponsor, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenneessee), said in a video posted last year by Family Policy Alliance that a main priority for conservatives was "protecting minor children from the transgender in this culture," and that the goal of KOSA was to prevent children from being "indoctrinated."
- The senator's legislative director later said Blackburn's comments were taken out of context.
The intrigue: After initially opposing KOSA because of the potential to restrict content for young LGBTQ+ people, organizations such as Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD reversed their positions earlier this year following revisions to the bill.
What's next: U.S. House leaders are interested in passing KOSA, but key holdouts could make that difficult.