1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

The House companion bill to the Kids Online Safety Act. Some lawmakers are seeking to attach the bill to must-pass legislation. Legislation of this magnitude deserves to pass—or fail—on its own merits. This House bill is still an unconstitutional censorship bill that restricts protected online speech and gives the government the power to target services and content it finds objectionable. In addition, the Houses attempt to limit the Duty of Care Provision to just large corporations ignores the fact that the vast majority of online communication is in the hands of monopolies. These larger corporations have the funds to comply, smaller platforms, meanwhile, still face demanding obligations under KOSA’s other sections. With respect to identity verification: The House version of the bill still incentivizes large and mid-size platforms—which, again, host the vast majority of all online speech—to implement age verification systems that will threaten the right to anonymity and create serious privacy and security risks for all users. Despite some changes, the House version of KOSA retains its fundamental constitutional flaws. It encourages government-directed censorship, dangerous digital age verification, and overbroad content restrictions on all internet users, and further harms young people by limiting their access to critical information and resources.