Kids Online Safety Act Explained

Shorttitle:Kids Online Safety Act
Longtitle:A bill to protect the safety of children on the internet.
Colloquialacronym:KOSA
Announced In:118
Leghisturl:https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1409/actions
Introducedin:Senate
Introducedby:Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn
Introduceddate:May 2, 2023
Passedbody1:Senate
Passeddate1:July 30, 2024
Passedvote1:91–3
Committees:Senate Commerce

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is a bill first introduced in Congress in 2022. The bill establishes guidelines to protect minors from harmful material on social media platforms through a "duty of care", which would be enforced by state attorneys generals.[1]

The bill originates from the 2021 Facebook leak, which led to a congressional investigation of Big Tech's lack of protection for minors. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn co-sponsored the bill and introduced it to the Senate in 2022. It was revived for the 2023-2024 congressional term and passed the Senate in July 2024; however, the bill has not been put forward in the House of Representatives.Though KOSA has bipartisan support, it has been criticized by civil rights organizations for potentially enabling censorship, including of material important to marginalized groups such as minorities and LGBT, as well as block material related to racism and abortion.[2]

Bill summary

The Kids Online Safety Act, if passed, would require social media platforms to reduce online dangers by changing their design or opting out of algorithm based recommendation systems.[3] It aims to create liability or a "duty of care" for apps and social networking platforms for specfic content that may not be suitable for minors. If the entities behind these Internet platforms fail to filter said content from minors, they might be open for legal action against them.[4]

History

KOSA was introduced to the Senate by senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn on February 16, 2022. The bill was a direct result after Frances Haugen, a data scientist for Facebook, leaked internal files through The Wall Street Journal in 2021 that showed negative effects of Instagram on minors' mental health, among other topics. The leak led to a Congressional investigation of Big Tech's lack of protection for young users with Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri testifying to Congress in December 2021.[5] Blumenthal, citing the leaked Facebook data, stated that the bill's intention was "not to burn the internet to the ground, not to destroy tech platforms or the internet or these sites; it is simply to enlist the social media platforms in this joint effort to achieve what should be a common goal—protecting children."[6]

The bill was advanced by the Senate Commerce Committee in July 2022, alongside an updated version of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (also known as COPPA 2.0).[7] Both were poised to be passed in the Senate as part of larger legislation near the end of the term for the 117th Congress, but failed to pass.[8]

President Joe Biden pushed Congress to pass legislation to protect children online during his 2023 State of the Union Address, leading Blackburn and Blumenthal to reintroduce KOSA in the Senate on May 2, 2023.[9] KOSA along with COPPA 2.0 were approved by the Senate Commerce Committee on July 27, 2023.[10] By February 2024, the bill had gained over 60 backers in the Senate to assure its passage, though there had yet to be a companion bill introduced in the House of Representatives by this point.[11] An attempt was made to append it into the FAA reauthorization act in May 2024.[12] The Senate passed their bill, along with COPPA 2.0, on July 30, 2024, by a vote of 91–3.[13] [14]

The House of Representatives had yet to pass their version of the bill by July 2024. A planned markup session for KOSA and other bills by the House Energy and Commerce commission in late June 2024 was abruptly canceled, with speculation that there were disagreements on the bill with Republican leaders.[15] In August 2024, Punchbowl News reported that the Republican leadership of the House would not advance KOSA, citing a staffer who referred to "concerns across our Conference".[16]

Reception

KOSA has been supported by over 200 groups, including the National Education Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the American Psychological Association. 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 censorship of artists' work. Along with the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Coalition Against Censorship, Fight for the Future, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, 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".[17] In July 2024, the ACLU brought 300 high-school students to Washington, D.C., in order to lobby against the bill.[18]

A letter sent to the United States Congress by Evan Greer—director of Fight for the Future—and signed by multiple civil society groups warns that KOSA could backfire and cause more harm to minors by overly censoring content due to a lack of specificity as to what constitutes "harm".[19] [20] [3] Fight for the Future has set up a Stop KOSA website for people to sign a petition and contact lawmakers against the bill.[21]

Interpretation of harms

Critics, including the EFF, note that the bill's definition of harm toward minors leaves room for broad interpretation by the state attorneys general who are charged with enforcing the bill,[22] [23] likening it to the FOSTA-SESTA bills.[24] The bill was revised in February 2024 as to shift the enforcement of the "duty of care" aspects of the bill from state attorneys to the Federal Trade Commission, though states would still be able to enforce other parts of the bill.[25]

The conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation wrote that the initial 2022 iteration of KOSA did not go far enough, as the bill did not explicitly list transgender health care as a harm.[26] [27] The inclusion of the phrase "consistent with evidence-informed medical information"[28] 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.[29] 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.[30] She also made comments in March 2024 that the bill was needed for "protecting minor children from the transgender in this culture", though co-sponsor Blumenthal stated that the bill "does not target or censor anyone, including members of the LGBTQ community".[31] 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.[32]

In September 2023, a video from the Family Policy Alliance showed Blackburn saying that there should be a priority to "protecting minor children from the transgender in this culture", alongside her promotion for KOSA, stating "This would put a duty of care and responsibility on the social media platforms, and this is where children are being indoctrinated."[33] This drew criticism from LGBT advocacy groups, fearing that the bill would allow LGBT information for minors to be censored. A spokesperson for Blackburn stated that KOSA was not intended to censor LGBT information.[33] To address these concerns, the bill's language was altered so that the "duty of care" only focused on the product design features that influenced minors' behavior with the platforms, and not the content. As a result, several LGBTQ groups, including GLAAD and GLSEN, dropped their opposition to the bill.[34] However, the EFF, Fight for the Future, and the American Civil Liberties Union found the revisions far from adequate, arguing that LGBTQ content could still be suppressed by targeting any design feature that makes that content available.[35] [36] [37]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: S.1409 – 118th Congress (2023–2024) . . (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 ... . July 27, 2023 . July 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727001029/https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1409 . live .
  2. News: Lorenz . Taylor . 2024-02-01 . Online safety legislation is opposed by many it claims to protect . 2024-02-01 . Washington Post . en-US . 0190-8286.
  3. News: Paul . Kari . ‘New text, same problems’: inside the fight over child online safety laws . 20 May 2024 . The Guardian . 11 March 2024 . May 20, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240520131724/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/11/no-consensus-how-to-keep-kids-safe-online . live .
  4. News: Tenbarge . Kat . 200 groups push Congress to pass Kids Online Safety Act in 2024 . 20 May 2024 . . 6 December 2023 . en . February 18, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240218172448/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/kosa-kids-online-safety-act-speech-censor-rcna128249 . live .
  5. News: Child Safety Is the New Tech Battleground . Andrew Ross . Sorkin . Sarah . Kessler . Stephen . Gandel . Michael J. . de la Merced . Lauren . Hirsch . Ephrat . Livni . February 17, 2022 . February 18, 2024 . . January 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125035859/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/17/business/dealbook/children-online-safety-bill.html . live .
  6. News: Lawmakers Seek Tougher Online Safety Standards for Children . John D. . McKinnon . February 16, 2022 . February 18, 2024 . . February 18, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240218165455/https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawmakers-seek-tougher-online-safety-standards-for-children-11645009201 . live .
  7. Web site: Bills to boost kids' online safety advance in Senate with bipartisan support . Rebecca . Klar . July 27, 2022 . February 18, 2024 . . February 18, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240218171845/https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3576234-bills-to-boost-kids-online-safety-advance-in-senate-with-bipartisan-support/ . live .
  8. Web site: Kids' privacy online gets yearend push in Congress . Ashley . Gold . November 16, 2022 . February 18, 2024 . . February 18, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240218171845/https://www.axios.com/2022/11/16/kids-privacy-online-congress-yearend-push . live .
  9. Web site: Lawmakers update Kids Online Safety Act to address potential harms, but fail to appease some activists, industry groups . Lauren . Fiener . May 2, 2023 . February 18, 2024 . . July 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727022043/https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/02/updated-kids-online-safety-act-aims-to-fix-unintended-consequences.html . live .
  10. Web site: Senate panel advances bills to childproof the internet . Makena . Killy . July 27, 2023 . February 18, 2024 . . February 18, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240218171845/https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/27/23809876/kosa-coppa-2-child-safety-privacy-protection-social-media . live .
  11. Web site: Senate poised to pass biggest piece of tech regulation in decades . Cristiano . Lima-Strong . February 15, 2024 . February 18, 2024 . . February 15, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240215175224/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/15/kids-online-safety-act-kosa-senate/ . live .
  12. Web site: Senators try to add kids online safety bills to FAA act . 2024-08-16.
  13. Web site: 2024-07-30 . Senate passes bill to protect kids online and make tech companies accountable for harmful content . 2024-08-16 . AP News . en.
  14. Web site: 2024-07-30 . Senate passes the most significant child online safety bills in decades . 2024-08-16 . NBC News . en.
  15. Web site: Feiner . Lauren . 2024-06-27 . A meeting to consider a bipartisan privacy bill just crumbled . 2024-08-16 . The Verge . en.
  16. Web site: Schumer's July journey: From anguish to hope . . August 1, 2024 . August 1, 2024 . Andrew . Desiderio . Max . Cohen . John . Bresnahan.
  17. Web site: Nayyar . Rhea . July 26, 2023 . Artists Call on Congress to Stop 'Bad Internet Bills' . . July 27, 2023 . July 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727042540/https://hyperallergic.com/835609/artists-call-on-congress-to-stop-bad-internet-bills/ . live .
  18. Web site: Senate To Kids: We'll Listen To You When You Agree With Us On KOSA . Mike . Masnick . Mike Masnick . . July 30, 2024 . July 30, 2024.
  19. Web site: November 28, 2022 . Letter: 90+ LGBTQ and human rights organizations oppose KOSA . Fight for the Future . July 27, 2023 . July 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230726203354/https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2022-11-28-letter-90-lgbtq-and-human-rights-organizations-oppose-kosa . live .
  20. News: Feiner . Lauren . May 2, 2023 . Lawmakers update Kids Online Safety Act to address potential harms, but fail to appease some activists, industry groups . . July 27, 2023 . July 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727022043/https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/02/updated-kids-online-safety-act-aims-to-fix-unintended-consequences.html . live .
  21. Web site: Stop KOSA . Fight for the Future . September 27, 2023 . September 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230927082718/https://www.stopkosa.com/ . live .
  22. Web site: Kelley . Jason . The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online . Electronic Frontier Foundation . May 2, 2023 . July 27, 2023 . It will be based on vague requirements that any Attorney General could, more or less, make up. . July 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230726230654/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/kids-online-safety-act-still-huge-danger-our-rights-online . live .
  23. Web site: Molloy . Parker . Congress is About to Pass a Very Bad Internet Bill. Here's How You Can Stop It. . Substack . July 27, 2023 . 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. . July 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727231012/https://www.readtpa.com/p/congress-is-about-to-pass-a-very . live .
  24. Web site: Philips . Sarah . This Bill Threatens Access to LGBTQ+ Online Communities . Teen Vogue . July 27, 2023 . 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. . July 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727113701/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/kids-online-safety-act-lgbtq-youth . live .
  25. Web site: Kids Online Safety Act gains enough supporters to pass the Senate . Lauren . Feiner . February 15, 2024 . February 18, 2024 . . February 18, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240218014517/https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/15/24073878/kids-online-safety-act-new-senate-support . live .
  26. Web site: Eckert . Jared . How Not To Keep Children Safe Online . The Heritage Foundation . March 21, 2022 . July 27, 2023 . July 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727231011/https://www.heritage.org/technology/commentary/how-not-keep-children-safe-online . live .
  27. Web site: Philips . Sarah . This Bill Threatens Access to LGBTQ+ Online Communities . Teen Vogue . July 27, 2023 . 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. . July 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727113701/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/kids-online-safety-act-lgbtq-youth . live .
  28. Web site: S.1409 . Congress.gov . May 2, 2023 . 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. . July 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230731115434/https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1409/text . live .
  29. Web site: Molloy . Parker . Congress is About to Pass a Very Bad Internet Bill. Here's How You Can Stop It. . Substack . July 27, 2023 . 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. . July 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727231012/https://www.readtpa.com/p/congress-is-about-to-pass-a-very . live .
  30. Web site: Why Is Critical Race Theory Dangerous For Our Kids? . U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee . July 12, 2021 . 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. . July 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230702110407/https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2021/7/why-is-critical-race-theory-dangerous-for-our-kids . live .
  31. News: Senator appears to suggest bipartisan bill would censor transgender content online . NBC . September 6, 2023 . September 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230906114728/https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/senator-appears-suggest-bipartisan-bill-will-censor-transgender-conten-rcna103479 . live .
  32. Web site: Kelley . Jason . The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online . Electronic Frontier Foundation . May 2, 2023 . 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. . July 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230726230654/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/kids-online-safety-act-still-huge-danger-our-rights-online . live .
  33. Web site: Senator appeared to suggest bipartisan bill would censor transgender content online . Matt . Latieves . September 5, 2023 . February 18, 2024 . . September 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230906114728/https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/senator-appears-suggest-bipartisan-bill-will-censor-transgender-conten-rcna103479 . live .
  34. Web site: LGBTQ groups drop opposition to Kids Online Safety Act . Christopher . Kane . February 15, 2024 . February 18, 2024 . . February 18, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240218173951/https://www.washingtonblade.com/2024/02/15/lgbtq-groups-drop-opposition-to-kids-online-safety-act/ . live .
  35. Web site: Silberling . Amanda . 2024-02-15 . Lawmakers revise Kids Online Safety Act to address LGBTQ advocates' concerns . 2024-02-19 . TechCrunch . en-US . February 19, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240219185847/https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/15/lawmakers-revise-kids-online-safety-act-to-address-lgbtq-advocates-concerns/ . live .
  36. Web site: Kelley . Jason . Mackey . Aaron . Mullin . Joe . 2024-02-15 . Don't Fall for the Latest Changes to the Dangerous Kids Online Safety Act . 2024-02-19 . Electronic Frontier Foundation . en . February 19, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240219185847/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/dont-fall-latest-changes-dangerous-kids-online-safety-act . live .
  37. Web site: Passing the Kids Online Safety Act just got more complicated . Lauren . Feiner . 2024-02-29 . 2024-03-01 . The Verge . March 2, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240302002630/https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/29/24086559/kids-online-safety-act-schatz-tech-groups . live .

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