Sadly, The Kids Online Safety Act is not on the agenda before Congress wraps up the year.
Fairplay Executive Director Josh Golin said the leading nonprofit advocating for the legislation is not pleased with the decision.
“[Speaker Mike Johnson] committed today to tackling online safety in the beginning of the year but he also said that he was going to support KOSA this year so actions speak louder than words,” Golin said.
Lawmakers have repeatedly revised the legislation. The latest version includes additional language-defining terms like reasonable care and reiterating the bill shall not infringe on the First Amendment.
“I never thought it infringed on anyone’s free speech rights but now it has been clarified and clarified and clarified and clarified even more and now has the support of free speech advocates like Elon Musk,” Golin said.
However, opposition said the revisions are largely cosmetic and still leaves language that could lead to censorship. Equality NY Executive Director Amanda Babine remained concerned social media platforms or policymakers could interpret LGBTQ+ content as inappropriate for children.
