1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

The KOSA bill seems poised to pass on the power of good intentions, but it is still a prime example of "think of the children" used to smuggle in other agendas. KOSA will be a cudgel that anti-LGBT+ antagonists are still openly claiming their intent to use against the presence of any material online that even mentions the existence of LGBT+ people, as well as the presence of the people themselves. The spirit of animosity that drives declared goals as were put forth in the Project 2025 plan--seeking to do things like repeal Comstock and prosecute artists who make LGBT+ art and stories--is ready and willing to seize KOSA powers as a tool in that crusade. Besides that, there is no way for content providers to comply with KOSA without verifying the identities of every user of their sites. This affects the privacy of every single user of the internet, adult or child. Even large and well-funded entities like AT&T can't keep their user data safe, and the open sale of user-data for the sake of targeting individuals with manipulated information, both ads and propaganda, is already a practice that leaves citizens feeling constantly surveiled, targeted, and manipulated by the interests of outside forces that do not have their well-being in mind. This will include creating personally-identifiable trails of all internet usage for all people, including the children that the bill claims to protect. It could open these children up to direct targeting not only from manipulative ads and propaganda, but also abusers--including those already closest to them--who can find many new avenues to access the children directly, based on this effective surveillance of their daily online lives. I believe that many supporters of KOSA do have good intentions, or at the very least do not want to be seen opposing a measure that claims in its very name to be about protecting children. However, while that name itself may simply reflect those good intentions, the actual impact of the bill's contents as written will be disastrous. It will change the entire internet for the worse for everyone, it will open both adults and children to all kinds of targeting due to forced de-anonymization and data gathering, and it will be weaponized by those who think that any gender identity or sexual orientation they disapprove of -even simply existing- is inherently indecent and should be barred from visibility or mention. A law or policy is what it does. This is what KOSA is, and it must be stopped, and put aside entirely so actual solutions to child safety can be considered.