Oppose KOSMA (S.278): Don't Hand Parenting to Big Tech

I'm writing to ask you to oppose S. 278, the Kids Off Social Media Act, which was reported out of committee in June and is sitting on the Senate calendar. I hope it stays there — or better, gets voted down. The bill sounds simple: keep kids under 13 off social media and stop algorithmic feeds for younger teens. But kids under 13 are already barred from every major platform under COPPA. This law doesn't close a loophole; it changes who enforces the rule. Instead of parents deciding, together with their kids, whether and how they go online, platforms would be legally required to override families — even the majority of young users whose parents helped them set up accounts in the first place. One large study by the UK regulator Ofcom found that up to two-thirds of under-13 social media users had direct help from a parent getting online. That's not a sneaky kid evading rules; that's a family making a decision. And here's the part that troubles me most: you can't keep under-13s off a service without figuring out how old everybody is. However carefully the bill avoids the words "age verification," the practical result is a verified, ID-checked internet — including for adults — with all the privacy risks that come with it. The Center for Democracy and Technology has also pointed out that the bill's "Eyes on the Board" provisions tie E-Rate school funding to compliance, pushing schools toward invasive monitoring software aimed at students. And courts have repeatedly found that sweeping bans on young people's access to online platforms violate the First Amendment. Please don't hand parenting to the tech companies and surveillance to the schools. Vote no on S. 278.