Last week, hundreds of parents gathered on Capitol Hill on Social Media Victims Remembrance Day, to commemorate children whose deaths were preventable. The faces of over 270 deceased children were featured on placards, displayed for all congresspeople to see.
But what happened? Far from responding to this moving event with strong legislation for child online safety, the U.S. House fast-tracked and passed a bill that would make the digital world even MORE dangerous for children.
This nefarious bill is known as the “KIDS Act.” Although disguised as a child protection bill, it is actually a Big Tech protection bill.
House passage of the KIDS Act is an appalling betrayal of the hundreds of parents who gathered on Capitol Hill, and their children, who might still be with us today if Congress had moved to hold Big Tech accountable. Moreover, this bill puts all children in harm’s way.
The KIDS Act must NOT be passed by the Senate to become law. Please contact your Senators today, warning them about this dangerous bill!
Tell Your Senators to Oppose the KIDS Act!
Why Is the KIDS Act Dangerous?
The KIDS Act is a package of bills that includes numerous problems. These include but are not limited to the below.
Guts the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA, S.1748), as pending before the Senate, is a strong bill that has been carefully refined through years of debate and compromise. However, the KIDS Act includes a gutted version of KOSA that removes virtually all its meaningful protections, including the crucial “Duty of Care.” You can learn more about why KOSA’s Duty of Care is so important here.
Moreover, the KIDS Act limits the scope of harms to children that are covered under KOSA, stating that suicidal behavior, eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, addiction/compulsive use, and more are not covered.
Finally, the KIDS Act exempts certain types of dangerous platforms from KOSA, including gaming platforms, messaging apps, and video chat services. Platforms like Roblox, Discord, and more, which have been well established as breeding grounds for child sexual exploitation, would be exempt.
Cements 13 Years Old as Age of Digital Adulthood
The KIDS Act includes concerning language from COPPA 2.0, which would enshrine into law that digital adulthood begins at 13-years-old. Tech companies will use this to justify withholding protections from minors ages 13 to 17, which is incredibly concerning, considering this age group is the most at risk for various forms of sexual exploitation and harm (e.g. sextortion and pornography exposure). Further, under the KIDS Act, no parental consent is required for tech companies to mine the personal data of minors aged 13 to 17.
Weakens A.I. Companion Regulations
Under the KIDS Act, “protections” regarding AI companions are effectively meaningless, amounting to a soft suggestion that the child take a 15-minute break every three hours, and a disclosure that that companion is AI, not a real person. Further, those weak provisions only apply if a chatbot provider knows the user on the other side is a child, allowing tech companies to simply turn a blind eye.
Major Loopholes and Safe Harbours for Tech
The KIDS Act also includes a number of major loopholes that could allow tech companies to dodge even the watered-down child protections the bill contains. For example, it enshrines into federal law an end-to-end encryption loophole for platforms to ignore child sexual exploitation.
While one important concern NCOSE had with the KIDS Act, regarding preventing states from passing strong state law regarding child protection, was addressed to a degree, the remaining problems with the bill still make it a non-starter.
It would truly be better for kids to pass no legislation than to pass this bill. And neither option is necessary. Several strong child protection bills are already pending before Congress, such as KOSA, the GUARD Act, the Sunset Section 230 Act, and more.
Congress must pass THESE bills, instead of Trojan Horse legislation pushed by the tech industry. Survivor parents and children deserve nothing less.
