1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

I am writing to express my strong opposition to the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and urge you to vote against this legislation in the House. While the bill's stated intention of protecting children online is laudable, its approach is deeply flawed and poses significant threats to online freedom and privacy for all Americans. KOSA's recent passage in the Senate with a 91-3 vote is alarming, as it demonstrates a rush to implement far-reaching regulations without fully considering their consequences. The bill's requirements for tech companies to implement a 'duty of care' and default to the 'safest' settings are vague and could lead to overzealous content moderation and censorship. This approach risks stifling free expression and access to information, not just for minors but for all users. The bill's expansion of child privacy laws to cover individuals up to age 17 is an overreach that fails to recognize the varying maturity levels and needs of teenagers. By treating older teens as children, KOSA could deprive them of valuable online resources and communities that are crucial for their development and self-expression. Furthermore, the 'eraser button' feature and restrictions on data collection, while well-intentioned, could create significant privacy risks. Implementing these features would require platforms to collect and store more user data to verify ages and manage content visibility, potentially making users more vulnerable to data breaches and surveillance. The ACLU and other civil liberties organizations have rightly criticized KOSA for its potential to enable censorship and compromise privacy. These concerns should not be dismissed lightly, especially given the bill's broad scope and the precedent it could set for future internet regulation. I urge you to oppose KOSA and instead advocate for more targeted, evidence-based approaches to online safety that do not compromise fundamental rights. We need solutions that empower users and parents without resorting to blanket restrictions or government-mandated content moderation. The internet's openness and accessibility are vital to our democracy and must be preserved. Please vote against KOSA and any similar legislation that threatens online freedom and privacy. Our digital rights are too important to sacrifice in the name of poorly conceived protections. These laws, as we are seeing in Britain. Have failed. Data leaks, IDs, and more stolen. Do not let our freedom of speech be destroyed, under the guise of "protecting the children". This is just more government over reach, and censorship.