KOSA won’t make kids more safe. · 4:33am Jul 18th, 2023
URGENT! Lawmakers have reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a dangerous censorship bill that would give the government unprecedented control over the internet.
KOSA won’t make kids more safe. Instead, it’ll put youth in danger by preventing them from accessing resources they need. Lawmakers concerned about online safety should reject KOSA and instead work to protect all internet users from abusive tech companies by passing a Federal data privacy law.
KOSA uses two methods to “protect” kids, and both of them are awful.
First, KOSA would pressure platforms to install filters that would wipe the net of anything deemed “inappropriate” for minors. This = instructing platforms to censor, plain and simple. Places that already use content filters have restricted important information about suicide prevention and LGBTQ+ support groups, and KOSA would spread this kind of censorship to every corner of the internet. It’s no surprise that anti-rights zealots are excited about KOSA: it would let them shut down websites that cover topics like race, gender, and sexuality.
Second, KOSA would ramp up the online surveillance of all internet users by expanding the use of age verification and parental monitoring tools. Not only are these tools needlessly invasive, they’re a massive safety risk for young people who could be trying to escape domestic violence and abuse.
90+ rights groups agree that KOSA is dangerous and updates to the 2023 version won’t and can’t address the big problems with the bill.
