1. United States
2. Mass.
3. Letter

I urge you to oppose the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). While protecting young people online is a laudable goal, KOSA poses serious risks to free expression and privacy on the internet. The "duty of care" provision in KOSA would effectively give the government sweeping power to decide what online content is permissible based on vague standards like preventing "anxiety" or "depression" in minors. This is unconstitutional censorship that could easily be abused to suppress legitimate speech across the internet under the guise of protecting children. Furthermore, KOSA would likely result in the widespread implementation of invasive age verification systems that undermine privacy for everyone online - both adults and minors. Such systems create honeypots of sensitive data ripe for breaches and abuse. There are better alternatives that can address legitimate concerns around youth online safety without jeopardizing free speech and privacy rights. A comprehensive federal data privacy law with strong protections for minors would empower users of all ages. Invigorating antitrust enforcement to promote competition and user choice in the tech sector could also foster more innovation tailored to different needs. I urge you to reject KOSA and instead pursue rights-respecting solutions that target actual harms without stamping out free expression online or undermining privacy through invasive age checks. The open internet's benefits for society are too precious to compromise on such a flawed bill.