1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and vote against this legislation if it comes before you. While I share concerns about protecting young people online, KOSA would create dangerous censorship mechanisms that would harm the very youth it claims to protect. KOSA's fundamental problem is that it is not content neutral. The bill's duty of care provisions cover content-specific aspects of recommendation systems, allowing the FTC to pressure platforms into filtering controversial but vital topics. This means social media companies would likely implement aggressive automated filtering of content related to LGBTQ issues, reproductive healthcare, sex education, and abortion access to avoid liability. We saw this exact response when platforms overreacted to SESTA/FOSTA legislation, and KOSA would repeat that mistake on a larger scale. The bill would also expand invasive age verification and parental monitoring tools. For young people trying to escape domestic violence or abuse, these surveillance measures could be genuinely dangerous. LGBTQ+ youth who rely on online communities for support and lifesaving resources would find themselves cut off from critical information and peer networks at a time when they face ongoing attacks on their access to gender-affirming healthcare and other essential services. Dozens of LGBTQ+ and civil rights organizations oppose KOSA precisely because they understand these risks. Even the newer version of the bill, despite some improvements in limiting how state attorneys general can weaponize it, retains the core censorship mechanisms that make it unacceptable. There is no consensus on what constitutes inappropriate content for minors, and KOSA would hand censorship power to those who seek to restrict young people's access to vital health information and support networks. If you are concerned about Big Tech's impact on youth, I urge you to instead support comprehensive federal data privacy legislation that protects young people without enabling censorship. Please vote no on KOSA.