Congress took an important first step in making the internet safer for kids by passing the Kids Online Safety Act

The bill was first introduced in 2022 by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) in response to several Congressional hearings regarding the exploitation of children online. Since then, the bipartisan outcry against this particular epidemic has only grown louder. Earlier this year, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, along with representatives from X, TikTok, and Discord, once again appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary hearing to defend their companies’ practices regarding child safety on their platforms. The questioning from Senators became so intense that Zuckerberg was forced to apologize for the harm done to children on Meta’s platforms.

Despite the overwhelming agreement that the online community must be made safer for kids, Congress has yet to pass any meaningful legislation on the issue. The 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act was the last bill signed into law related to the issue – an outdated law that predates the age of social media. A major reason that nothing has been done since then is that legislators have been unsure how to make social media more child-friendly without infringing on First Amendment protections. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) was able to garner broad appeal because rather than policing the content on social media or intrusively meddling in the affairs of private companies, the bill’s goal is merely to ensure that these platforms are more child friendly.

KOSA’s primary objective is to direct how the big tech companies deliver content to minors. One of the bill’s provisions would establish a “duty of care,” which would mandate all covered companies “exercise reasonable care” in the creation and implementation of any design or feature to prevent various harms, including the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. That means limiting the ability of unknown adults to communicate with minors on the app.

KOSA would also prevent companies from adopting any algorithmic designs or other modes that entice kids to spend too much time on the apps, such as limitless scrolling and video auto plays. As Sen. Blumenthal noted, “Record levels of hopelessness and despair—a national teen mental health crisis—have been fueled by black box algorithms featuring eating disorders, bullying, suicidal thoughts, and more. Kids and parents want to take back control over their online lives.” The less time kids spend on these apps, the better off they’ll be.

Further, KOSA would require companies to put many features in place, enabled by default, to safeguard minors, including restricted public access to personal data. Under the bill, companies would be required to implement tools that give parents the ability to manage their child’s social media account, allowing them to adjust privacy settings, restrict purchases, and easily report harmful content. While many companies currently have reporting tools, they lack transparency about where those reports go and how they’re handled, or if they’re investigated at all. KOSA would ensure these tools are actually effective.

While the bill has broad support from both sides of the aisle, the loudest objections have come from the big tech companies themselves and the LGBTQ community. While several companies, including Facebook, have voiced support for strengthening protections, they state that they have disagreements with how KOSA goes about doing so. While those arguments might be valid, these companies have thus far proven unwilling to address the problem themselves, so Congress must intervene. As for the latter, they argue that KOSA may restrict a child’s ability to access online content about their “identity” – a compelling reason for those opposed to the gender ideology agenda to support the bill.

The bill passed out of the Senate by an overwhelming 91-3 vote. It is still unclear whether or not the House will take it up, but the wide vote margin gives the bill momentum. Though there’s far more work to be done when it comes to protecting vulnerable children from online exploitation, KOSA is an important first step that will hopefully pave the way for more in the future.