Kids Online Safety Act

The "Kids Online Safety Act" (KOSA) is a bill introduced in the United States Senate by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D‑CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R‑TN) in February 2022[1] and reintroduced in May 2023; the bill "sets out requirements" to protect minors from "harm" on social media platforms.[2] The bill charges individual state attorneys general with enforcing the bill.[3] The bill has been criticized by civil rights organizations for potentially enabling censorship, including of material important to marginalized groups.

"KOSA" redirects here. For the television station, see KOSA-TV.
Kids Online Safety Act
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleA bill to protect the safety of children on the internet.
Acronyms (colloquial)KOSA
Announced inthe 118th United States Congress
Legislative history

Bill summary

The bill is summarized by the Congressional Research Service with the following:

This bill sets out requirements to protect minors from online harms.

The requirements apply to covered platforms, which are applications or services (e.g., social networks) that connect to the internet and are likely to be used by minors. However, the bill exempts internet service providers, email services, educational institutions, and other specified entities from the requirements.

Additionally, covered platforms must provide (1) minors (or their parents or guardians) with certain safeguards, such as settings that restrict access to minors' personal data; and (2) parents or guardians with tools to supervise minors' use of a platform, such as control of privacy and account settings.

Covered platforms must also;

  • disclose specified information, including details regarding the use of personalized recommendation systems and targeted advertising;
  • allow parents, guardians, minors, and schools to report certain harms;
  • refrain from facilitating advertising of age-restricted products or services (e.g., tobacco and gambling) to minors; and
  • annually report on foreseeable risks of harm to minors from using the platform.
— Congressional Research Service summary, 118th Congress S. 1409

Criticism

The bill has been criticized by members of the "Don't Delete Art" (DDA) movement and anti-censorship groups due to the chances of increased online surveillance and heavy censorship of artists' work. Along with support from the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Coalition Against Censorship, Fight for the Future, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, DDA has encouraged people to signal their opposition through an online petition that labels KOSA as one of several "Bad Internet Bills."[4]

A letter sent to the United States Congress by Evan Greer—director of Fight for the Future—and signed by multiple civil society groups claims that KOSA could backfire and cause more harm to minors.[5][6] Fight for the Future has set up a Stop KOSA website for people to sign a petition and contact lawmakers against the bill.[7]

Interpretation of harms

Critics, including the EFF, notes that the bill's definition of harm toward minors leaves room for broad interpretation decided by the state attorneys general who are charged with enforcing the bill,[8][9] likening it to the FOSTA-SESTA bills.[10]

The conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation has written that the initial 2022 iteration of KOSA doesn't go far enough, as the bill doesn't explicitly list transgender healthcare as a harm.[11][12] The inclusion of the phrase "consistent with evidence-informed medical information"[13] could be used by attorneys general to cherry-pick anti-trans sources as justification, since there is no definition of what "evidence-based medical information" can include.[14] Senator Blackburn, co-author of the bill, has argued that some education about racism and the civil rights movement overlaps with critical race theory, which she labels a "dangerous ideology" that can inflict "mental and emotional damage" upon children.[15] She has also explicitly stated that the bill will be used to censor content involving the transgender community.[16] EFF columnist Jason Kelly states that in the framework provided by the bill, that KOSA could be used to censor education about racism in schools since it could be claimed that it impacts mental health.[17]

References
  1. "Blackburn, Blumenthal Introduce Bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act". blackburn.senate.gov. May 2, 2023.
  2. "S.1409 — 118th Congress (2023-2024)". Congress.gov.
  3. "S.1409 — 118th Congress (2023-2024)". Congress.gov. (Section 11 B) In any case in which the attorney general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of that State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by the engagement of any person in a practice that violates this Act or a regulation promulgated under this Act, the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in a district court of the United States or a State court of appropriate jurisdiction...S. 1409
  4. Nayyar, Rhea (July 26, 2023). "Artists Call on Congress to Stop 'Bad Internet Bills'". Hyperallergic.
  5. "Letter: 90+ LGBTQ and human rights organizations oppose KOSA". Fight for the Future. November 28, 2022.
  6. Feiner, Lauren (May 2, 2023). "Lawmakers update Kids Online Safety Act to address potential harms, but fail to appease some activists, industry groups". CNBC.
  7. "Stop KOSA". Fight for the Future. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  8. Kelley, Jason (May 2, 2023). "The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved July 27, 2023. It will be based on vague requirements that any Attorney General could, more or less, make up.
  9. Molloy, Parker (July 27, 2023). "Congress is About to Pass a Very Bad Internet Bill. Here's How You Can Stop It". Substack. Retrieved July 27, 2023. The bill would enforce monitoring of anyone under the age of seventeen and give state attorneys general the power to censor content.
  10. Philips, Sarah (July 27, 2023). "This Bill Threatens Access to LGBTQ+ Online Communities". Teen Vogue. Retrieved July 27, 2023. Like SESTA/FOSTA, KOSA creates the aforementioned duty of care for social media companies, giving state attorneys general the power to sue sites like Instagram or Twitter if they put up content they deem "harmful" for kids and teens. With SESTA/FOSTA, we saw that tech companies preferred to shut down already-policed content about reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ identities, and sex education than risk a lawsuit.
  11. Eckert, Jared (March 21, 2022). "How Not To Keep Children Safe Online". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  12. Philips, Sarah (July 27, 2023). "This Bill Threatens Access to LGBTQ+ Online Communities". Teen Vogue. Retrieved July 27, 2023. KOSA's supporters might want to ignore the fact that it's a censorship bill in disguise, but the Heritage Foundation is saying the quiet part out loud. The hard-line conservative organization has openly said KOSA will help them censor the content conservatives don't want young people to have access to.
  13. "S.1409". Congress.gov. May 2, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023. Sec 3.b.2: the covered platform or individuals on the platform from providing resources for the prevention or mitigation of suicidal behaviors, substance use, and other harms, including evidence-informed information and clinical resources.
  14. Molloy, Parker (July 27, 2023). "Congress is About to Pass a Very Bad Internet Bill. Here's How You Can Stop It". Substack. Retrieved July 27, 2023. (In a block quote from Evan Greer) The phrase "consistent with evidence-informed medical information" does nothing to prevent that, because AGs can always find cherry-picked studies to support their wild claims. They're doing this right now. In his "emergency" order attempting to ban gender-affirming care, Missouri's attorney general cited a Swedish study that claims there is a lack of evidence to support the efficacy and safety of gender-affirming care. There is no legal definition of "evidence-based." Those are just words. This bill will absolutely allow AGs to go after platforms for recommending speech they don't like to younger users. Tying the duty of care to specific mental health outcomes is also problematic because it will lead to suppression of all discussion around those important but controversial topics.
  15. "Why Is Critical Race Theory Dangerous For Our Kids?". U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2023. While parents struggle to help their children manage the mental and emotional damage inflicted by this dangerous ideology, the left will continue to re-write our education system to fit their woke agenda—and they won't stop until CRT is in every classroom in America. I will gladly stand with Tennessee parents to demand an end to this latest, unhinged attempt to brainwash our nation's children.
  16. "Senator appears to suggest bipartisan bill would censor transgender content online". NBC.
  17. Kelley, Jason (May 2, 2023). "The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved July 27, 2023. KOSA's co-author, Sen. Blackburn of Tennessee, has referred to education about race discrimination as "dangerous for kids." Many states have agreed and recently moved to limit public education about the history of race, gender, and sexuality discrimination.
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