The Children’s Online Safety Act, Explained

TThe last time Congress passed a law to protect children on the Internet was in 1998 — before Facebook, before the iPhone and long before today’s older teenagers were born. Now, a bill aimed at protecting children from the harms of social media, gaming sites and other online platforms appears to have enough bipartisan support to pass, although it remains uncertain whether it will.

Supporters, however, hope the issue will be voted on later this month.

Proponents of the Kids’ Online Safety Act include parent groups and child advocacy organizations, as well as companies like Microsoft, X and Snap. They say the bill is a necessary first step toward regulating technology companies and requiring them to protect children from harmful online content and take responsibility for the harm their platforms can cause.

Opponents, however, worry that KOSA violates the First Amendment and will harm vulnerable children who would not otherwise have access to information about LGBTQ issues or reproductive rights — although the bill has been revised to address many of these concerns, and the main LGBTQ groups have decided to support the proposed legislation.

Here’s what you should know about KOSA and how likely it is to go into effect.

What would KOSA do?

If passed, KOSA would create a “duty of care” – a legal term that requires companies to take reasonable steps to avoid harm – for online platforms that minors are likely to use.

They would have to “prevent and mitigate” harm to children, including bullying and violence, the promotion of suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation and the advertising of illegal products such as narcotics, tobacco or alcohol.

Social media platforms would also have to provide minors with options to protect their information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of receiving personalized algorithmic recommendations. They would also be required to limit other users’ communications with children and limit features that “enhance, sustain or extend the use” of the platform – such as auto-playing videos or platform rewards. In general, online platforms would have to adopt the safest settings possible for accounts they believe belong to minors.

“Much of the harm young people experience online and on social media is the result of deliberate design choices these companies make,” said Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, a nonprofit that works to protect children from commercialization, from the marketing and damage caused by Big Tech.

How would this be applied?

An earlier version of the bill authorized state attorneys general to enforce KOSA’s “duty of care” provision, but after concerns from LGBTQ groups and others who feared they could use it to censor information about LGBTQ or reproductive issues. it may still apply other provisions, but not the “duty of care” standard.

Broader oversight would fall to the Federal Trade Commission, which would oversee what types of content are “harmful” to children.

Who supports this?

KOSA is supported by a wide range of nonprofit organizations, technology accountability, and parent and pediatric groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Federation of Teachers, Common Sense Media, Fairplay, The Real Facebook Oversight Board, and the NAACP . Some prominent technology companies, including Microsoft, X and Snap, have also signed on. Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has not come out in firm support or opposition to the bill, although it has said in the past that it supports regulating social media.

ParentSOS, a group of around 20 parents who have lost children to the harm caused by social media, has also been campaigning for the bill’s passage. One such parent is Julienne Anderson, whose 17-year-old daughter died in 2022 after purchasing tainted drugs through Instagram.

“We shouldn’t take on all the responsibility for keeping our children safe online,” she said. “All other sectors have been regulated. And I’m sure you’ve heard this all the time. From toys to movies, music, cars and everything. We have regulations in place to keep our children safe. And this is a product that they created and distributed and yet, over all these years, since the 90s, there has been no legislation regulating the industry.”

KOSA was introduced in 2022 by Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. It currently has 68 co-sponsors in the Senate, from across the political spectrum, which would be enough to pass if it were brought to a vote.

Who opposes this?

The ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and other groups that support free speech are concerned about violations of the First Amendment. Even with revisions that deprived state attorneys general of enforcing their duty to provide care, EFF calls it a “dangerous and unconstitutional censorship bill that would empower state authorities to target online services and content they don’t like.”

Kate Ruane, director of the Free Expression Project at the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology, said she remains concerned that the bill’s careful duty provision could be “misused by politically motivated actors to targeting marginalized communities like the LGBTQ population and just politically divisive information generally,” to try to suppress information because someone believes it is harmful to children’s mental health.

She added that although these concerns persist, progress has been made in alleviating concerns.

The bigger issue, though, she added, is that platforms don’t want to be sued for showing minors content that could be “politically divisive,” so to ensure that doesn’t happen, they could suppress such topics — about abortion or transgender. healthcare or even the wars in Gaza or Ukraine.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-K.Y., also expressed opposition to the bill. Paul said the bill “could stop kids from watching PGA golf or the Super Bowl on social media because of gambling and beer ads, those kids could just turn on the TV and see the exact same ads.”

He added that he “tried to work with the authors to correct the project’s many deficiencies. If the authors are not interested in a compromise, Senator (Chuck) Schumer can bring the bill to the floor, as he could have done from the beginning.”

Will it be approved in Congress?

Golin said he is “very hopeful” that the project will be voted on in July.

“The reason it hasn’t been voted on yet is that passing legislation is really difficult, especially when trying to regulate one of, if not the most powerful, industry in the world,” he said. “We are spending too much.”

Golin added that he thinks there is a “very good chance” and remains very hopeful that it will be surpassed.

Senate Majority Leader Schumer, D-N.Y., who has spoken out in support of KOSA, would have to bring it to a vote.

Schumer supported the legislation but has not yet set aside time to pass it. As there are objections to the legislation, a week or more of procedural votes would be needed before a final vote.

He said on the floor last week that passage of the bill was a “top priority” but that it had not yet been moved because of objections.

“Unfortunately, some of our colleagues continue to block these bills without offering any constructive ideas on how to revise the text,” he said. “So now we must look forward and all options are on the table.”