‘Kids Online Safety Act’ Dead in the House

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that could have limited LGBTQ+ content on the internet, is stalled and essentially dead in the House of Representatives. 

The bill passed in the Senate with large bipartisan support but was criticized by many LGBTQ+  and free speech advocacy groups, as there were concerns that the bill, while protecting children against genuinely harmful content, could censor LGBTQ+ content and prevent LGBTQ+ youth from accessing important resources and community over the internet. After the passing of several laws banning LGBTQ+ content from children’s libraries in multiple states, the internet is an incredibly valuable resource for queer youth, and in some places, their only resource. 

The House stated that they would not vote on the bill in its current state, but the bill may come back in a different form. Advocates for the bill believe that the House refusing to even vote on the bill was a poor choice, such as Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who wrote in an X post that it was “an awful mistake. Parents and kids in America deserve better.”

Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky brought up valid criticisms of the bill in a “Dear Colleague” letter in July, where he said that KOSA “raises significant First Amendment concerns, imposes vague, undefined requirements on internet platforms, and empowers politically motivated enforcers to advance their own ideological interests to the detriment of the American people.” 

The bill would have required online platforms to remove content that could harm minors, but as pointed out by digital privacy rights group Fight for the Future, “There is no consensus on what is inappropriate for minors.” This means that there is a possibility that resources necessary for queer youth are considered harmful, as LGBTQ+ content is already considered harmful and inappropriate for children in some states. 

While it’s great that KOSA has been stopped, these vague child safety bills will keep coming and are often used to target queer youth. Voters should carefully read these proposed bills and stay knowledgeable about the possibilities of them. 

Photo courtesy of social media