1. United States
2. La.
3. Letter

I urge you to vote no on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) S.1409. As reported in CNBC and Axios, this bill actively harms kids. Nearly 100 human rights and LGBTQ+ organizations, including the American Library Association, GLAAD, and GLSEN, signed an open letter opposing the prior bill in November 2022 because of how dangerous it is. On this new bill, Evan Greer (EFF) wrote, “I’ve read through it and can say unequivocally that the changes that have been made DO NOT address the concerns that we raised...” KOSA won’t make kids safer. This bill allows any state attorney general to sue any website for “harmful” content. When you have Republicans calling anything LGBTQ+ “sexual exploitation” or anything about race “CRT” to successfully remove books, teachers, and people from the public eye, it’s clear they will use this power to dictate what content platforms can show to minors. The Missouri Attorney General used “mental health” successfully to ban gender-affirming care, which will lead to skyrocketing suicide rates for trans youth. KOSA also hands more private data of children to social media platforms. Per the ACLU, “...the bill would legitimize platforms’ already pervasive data collection to identify which users are minors when it should be seeking to curb those data abuses. Moreover, parental guidance in minors’ online lives is critical, but KOSA would mandate surveillance tools without regard to minors’ home situations or safety. KOSA would be a step backward in making the internet a safer place for children and minors.”