1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I'm a 17-year-old constituent of yours and I’m writing to urge you to reject the Kids Online Safety Act, a misguided bill that would put vulnerable young people at risk. The Act allows the government to pressure social media platforms to remove content that could be deemed inappropriate for minors, but the main issue is that there's no clear definition of what's inappropriate. We see every day how lawmakers across the country attack young queer and transgender people's access to information and lifesaving care. The communities and resources that people like me depend on should not be left to the whims of right-wing extremists. Also, the Act will heavily limit minors’ privacy online. What if a child is being abused, and they message their friend on Instagram to get help filing a report? If you pass KOSA, their parents might be able to see every word the child is sending. While the revision to the Act introduced in the 118th Congress helps to restrict the power of attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission, it doesn’t go far enough. The Act says that personalized recommendation systems are specifically covered under platforms’ duty of care, and there has been evidence that these systems have been influenced by their companies’ executives to make certain content shown more or less to users. KOSA leaves the door wide open for a future FTC to pressure platforms to filter out important content such as information about the right to an abortion, how to seek help if you’re being abused, or even how to get help if you think you might commit self-harm. Dozens of organizations have officially stated they’re against KOSA, including the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. While KOSA does make some good first steps, it compromises kids’ online safety a lot more than it helps. Please vote no.