The Kids Online Safety Act is back, with the potential to change the internet

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has been reintroduced into Congress. If passed into law, this measure could enforce immoderate of the astir important legislative changes that the net has seen successful the U.S. since the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998.

As it presently stands, KOSA would beryllium capable to clasp societal media platforms legally accountable if it’s proven that these companies aren’t doing capable to support minors from harm. The measure includes a agelong database of imaginable harms, specified arsenic eating disorders, intersexual exploitation, substance abuse, and suicide. Though it overwhelmingly passed done the Senate past year, the measure was stifled successful the House.

KOSA has faced much backlash since its instauration successful 2022.

Human rights groups similar the ACLU raised concerns that the measure could beryllium weaponized arsenic a instrumentality for censorship and surveillance. While amendments to KOSA person mitigated immoderate of these concerns, groups similar the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Fight for the Future person remained against the bill.

“The bill’s authors person claimed implicit and implicit that this measure doesn’t interaction speech. But the Duty of Care is astir speech: it’s astir blocking code that the authorities believes is atrocious for kids,” Fight for the Future wrote successful a statement. “And the radical who volition beryllium determining what code is harmful? They are the aforesaid ones utilizing each instrumentality to soundlessness marginalized communities and onslaught those they comprehend arsenic enemies.”

However, KOSA has garnered enactment from companies similar Microsoft, Snap, and X; X CEO Linda Yaccarino adjacent worked with Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) connected the astir caller draught of the bill. Google and Meta person remained opposed to the bill, but Apple announced contiguous that it volition enactment the legislation.

“Apple is pleased to connection our enactment for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Everyone has a portion to play successful keeping kids harmless online, and we judge [this] authorities volition person a meaningful interaction connected children’s online safety,” Timothy Powderly, Apple’s Senior Director of Government Affairs, said successful a statement.