WASHINGTON, DC (February 16, 2024) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) commends the reintroduction of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) with additional bipartisan support from 62 Senate co-sponsors, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. KOSA is poised to become the first online child protection legislation passed by Congress in 25 years.
“Big Tech not only facilitates the sexual exploitation of children, but companies also have themselves become perpetrators of harm and abuse. Digital platforms are dangerous by design. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) will fix that,” said Dawn Hawkins, CEO, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“KOSA requires tech platforms to be designed with safety features on by default for children. It requires a ‘duty of care’ to ensure that covered platforms exercise reasonable care regarding new design features. It will help protect children from the massive amount of online harm, including child sexual exploitation, suicide instruction, harassment, and eating disorder content, to which children, especially those who are vulnerable and marginalized, are currently exposed.
“The Senate should pass KOSA as soon as possible since the majority supports it and the U.S. House should take up KOSA immediately too. Now is the time to act to protect current and future generations,” Hawkins said.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-partisan organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography. www.EndSexualExploitation.org
