Reject KOSA, Protect Online Privacy and Free Speech

The House version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) remains a deeply concerning piece of legislation that threatens free speech and online privacy. Despite minor revisions, it continues to open the door for government-directed censorship and imposes dangerous obligations that will compel platforms to broadly restrict legal content. This bill fails to resolve the core First Amendment issues previously identified with KOSA. Its vague provisions around "duty of care" and "compulsive usage" create a subjective standard that state enforcers could exploit to go after platforms hosting any speech they deem harmful to minors. This would inevitably lead to overblocking and suppression of legitimate educational resources, social support networks, and other vital online content that young people rely on. Moreover, the bill's requirements to identify and treat minors differently will pressure platforms to implement risky age verification systems. Such mechanisms threaten privacy, enable invasive tracking, and undermine the ability to communicate anonymously online – core rights that all users deserve. While proponents claim this targets only the biggest tech companies, in reality it puts the entire open internet at risk. The vast majority of online speech happens on just a handful of major platforms that would be subject to KOSA's onerous obligations. And smaller sites could still face liability for legally protected speech under other vague provisions. This legislation is an unconstitutional overreach that sacrifices foundational digital rights under the guise of protecting youth. I urge you to reject the House version of KOSA and instead pursue rights-respecting policies, such as a robust federal privacy law, that can truly make the internet a safer place for all.