It’s undeniable that the online world is as damaging as it is useful–especially for kids. Yet, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) can potentially protect them. The bipartisan bill passed in the Senate as of August 2024 with an easy majority and is on its way to the House of Representatives. However, this is nothing to celebrate. The bill in its current state is an underdeveloped disaster masqueraded by its attempts to protect our youth. The bill’s indeterminate definitions and scope of power leave the legislation with too many holes that can be used for evil.
What is KOSA?
KOSA is an act that seeks to protect kids from harmful online content consumption by regulating information that is distributed to minors on social media. The bill outlines a duty of care– a list of requirements that platforms must meet to comply with the act. Initially, the legislation focused on censoring dangerous content but upon dissent from various organizations and concerned parties, it has since been modified to address these criticisms. Now, instead of its initial goal, it has established a “design feature” regulation that includes disabling rewards for time spent on platforms, personalized recommendations, appearance-altering filters, notifications, in-game purchases and infinite scrolling or auto-play. Additionally, the act requires platforms to deter content such as bullying, violence, suicide encouragement, as well as advertisements for illegal substances, eating disorders and substance abuse.
What’s Wrong
The bill can be an asset to society and create a safe place for kids online. But in its current form, there is a list of reasons why it is unacceptable. For example, the bill allows the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take legal action against social media platforms. Its broad definition of “design features” and “reasonable care” will likely encourage platforms to excessively filter content because they fear non-compliance. This will result in kids losing access to protected speech and content due to overcorrection.
The bill increases kids’ exposure and vulnerability to data leaks. Currently, kids can be anonymous users; however, the bill will require a verification process that has not yet been determined. But if a photo ID, birthdate or special sign-in is needed, it’s naive to believe that personal information will not be at risk, especially with increased cybercrime and data leaks.
Finally the bill can become a gateway towards targeting minority groups that are deemed politically unfavorable. While the original version that would censure content is no longer active, there are loopholes. Attorneys General will have the power to enforce KOSA’s design requirements and politically driven officials could target important topics such as Sexual Health, Critical Race Theory (CRT) or LGBTQ+ content through attacks against platforms that distribute them. For example, the Attorney General would have the ability to file suits if the content they did not like was made available through recommendations or notifications. The already broad design features will allow anyone to report these types of content in a roundabout way and have a basis for a suit.
The heart of KOSA is to protect the youth and it is an inarguably important goal that should be taken seriously. However, this bill is unfinished and leaves many concerns. A decision like this will impact kids for years to come. It is better to take a step back and develop an improved solution rather than rush into the first solution that seems fitting. If the House of Representatives passes KOSA when they return in September, Americans face filtering out educational resources, suppressing the voices of minorities and exposing kids to increased data leaks.
Acknowledgment: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author
