Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have negotiated updated text for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) with Elon Musk’s social media platform X in an effort to quell Republican concerns about censorship in the House.
In a statement Saturday, the senators announced the updated text for KOSA boosts the protection of freedom of speech for minors online, a key concern for GOP leadership in the House, where the bill remains stalled.
“Led by X, the new changes made to the Kids Online Safety Act strengthen the bill while safeguarding free speech online and ensuring it is not used to stifle expression,” Blackburn and Blumenthal wrote. “These changes should eliminate once and for all the false narrative that this bill would be weaponized by unelected bureaucrats to censor Americans.”
X CEO Linda Yaccarino echoed their remarks, calling on Congress to pass KOSA before the end of the year.
The measure, which overwhelmingly passed in the Senate in July, seeks to create regulations for the kinds of features tech and social media companies offer kids online and reduce the addictive nature and mental health effects of these platforms.
“At X, protecting our children is our top priority. As I’ve always said, freedom of speech and safety can and must coexist. And as a mother, it’s personal,” she wrote Saturday on X.
Responding to Yaccarino’s statement on X, Musk said, “Protecting kids should always be priority #1.”
