Changes to the Kids’ Online Safety Act (KOSA) that are supposed to address the concerns of its critics might as well be lipstick on a pig - they don’t do anything substantial to address the fundamental issues posed by this bill.
Deciding what constitutes “harmful content” now rests with the FCC and not state AGs, but state AGs still have broad enforcement powers and have every incentive to be over-zealous and block everything they can. An FCC under a Republican President hostile to civil rights, LGBTQ people, reproductive freedoms, etc. can do a lot of damage with the powers of this bill, so it’s actually WORSE than before in that respect.
And in all practical matters enforcement of KOSA will still require age verification, something that Federal courts have already ruled unconstitutional for state laws with a similar framework to KOSA.
There are lots of things Congress could do to actually enhance the safety and privacy of Americans, including minors. This isn’t going to do that. It’s just going to invade our privacy and block young people’s access to information about things like reproductive health or safe places to go if they’re gay, lesbian, or bi in an unwelcoming home.
