This week we witnessed a truly historic victory in the fight for online child protection: The Kids Online Safety Act has passed the Senate.
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has received astonishing bipartisan support in the Senate, with 72 bipartisan cosponsors from across the aisle. The bill passed today with 91 votes in favor! This is the first time in 25 years that a bill for online child protection bill has come this close to being signed into law!
We are so close to this crucial bill becoming law. KOSA has already been introduced House and has 38 bipartisan cosponsors; we need YOUR HELP to ensure it passes there as well!
With the overwhelming evidence that online platforms are harming our children and youth themselves begging for KOSA to be passed, it is clear: Children cannot wait one more day, let alone one more congressional session, for protection from rampant online dangers.
KOSA will literally save lives. Scrolling 2 Death and Project STAND created a resource “Faces of Social Media Harm” which shows the children who have died as a result of social media, and explains how KOSA could have helped them. Sadly, it is too late for these children—but it is not too late for innumerable other children KOSA could protect!
Please TAKE ACTION NOW, calling on your House Representatives to support KOSA:
What Does the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) Do?
KOSA provides the most comprehensive solution of any child protection bill pending before Congress. The bill holds tech companies legally accountable to designing their products in a way that keeps children safe. It does this in the following key ways:
- Default to Safety: Currently, even when tech platforms do provide safety settings or tools for children, they are usually OFF by default. Since research shows that most people leave devices and apps at their defaulted settings, this approach puts children directly in harm’s way. KOSA would require that platforms likely to be accessed by children have the highest safety settings ON by default for minor-aged accounts.
- Duty of Care: KOSA establishes a legally actionable “duty of care” for platforms that are likely to be accessed by minors. This means that tech companies must responsibly design their products in a way that protects children, or they could face liability.
- Safeguards and Tools: KOSA requires platforms provide safeguards for children and tools for parents or guardians to protect their kids from online dangers.
- Transparency: KOSA requires disclosure of policies and practices that companies use for personal data and minors’ safety. These public reports are an important way to hold platforms accountable and help pinpoint solutions if they are not reaching standards.
Addressing Misinformation About KOSA
There has also been misinformation spread about KOSA by Big Tech lobbyists and those who wish to stop the bill’s passage. Opponents of KOSA often claim that the bill would adversely impact on the LGBTQ+ community, and that it is a threat to online privacy. Neither are true.
You can read a detailed analysis of why this isn’t true here.
To summarize:
KOSA was revised twice in consultation with members of the LGBTQ+ community to address concerns that it might negatively impact them. Following these revisions, several major LGBTQ+ organizations dropped opposition to KOSA.
As for privacy concerns, KOSA actually 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.
ACTION: Help Pass KOSA in the House!
Please take 30 seconds to contact your House Representatives, urging them to support this life-saving bill!
