Children Face Fatal Danger Online – Will Congres Vote to Protect Them?

WASHINGTON, DC (November 18, 2024) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) called on the U.S. House to prioritize the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) this session, as children face daily threats to their safety and well-being online. The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill on July 30 by a vote of 91-3. 

“Big Tech knows our children are vulnerable to sextortion, grooming, sexual exploitation and other harms online, but the industry fails to prioritize child safety. The Kids Online Safety Act will ensure Big Tech is held legally accountable for designing products and platforms in a way that keeps children safe. Congress must use this lame duck session to pass this comprehensive consumer protection bill,” said Dawn Hawkins, CEO, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

“There is no excuse for the U.S. House to ignore child safety when KOSA is an excellent, bipartisan solution workshopped and negotiated with stakeholders over the last three years,” she said. 

The Wall Street Journal (“Inside Big Tech’s Bid to Sink the Online Kid Safety Bill”) revealed yesterday that Meta and Apple have spent almost $90 million to lobby against crucial child protection bills such as KOSA in the last three years.

Key Resources About the Kids Online Safety Act: 

–The  “Faces of Social Media Harm”, a resource created by Scrolling 2 Death and Project STAND, tells the story of children who have died due to preventable harms on social media, and explains how KOSA could have helped them. 

— Addressing Misinformation about the Kids Online Safety Act –  KOSA enhances privacy by requiring social media platforms to give minors options to protect their information and opt out of personalized algorithms. It does not include any requirements for moderation, monitoring, or age verification. Big Tech claims that KOSA censors speech is a lie. 

— Poll Finds Overwhelming Public Support for KOSA – According to a poll released by Issue One, ParentsSOS, and Fairplay, “86 percent of U.S. voters support the Kids Online Safety Act. Support for the bill crosses partisan lines, with 87 percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Democrats, and 82 percent of independents in favor of it.” 

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. https://endsexualexploitation.org/