A group of state attorneys general is pushing Congress to pass the Child Online Safety Act (KOSA), which has stalled in the House of Representatives due to concerns about online censorship. An open letter published today It is signed by 32 attorneys general, including those from 31 states and the District of Columbia. He urges leaders of both parties in the House and Senate to vote on the bill before the current session of Congress ends early next year.
“While an increasingly online world has improved many aspects of our material well-being, prolific Internet use negatively impacts our children,” reads the letter, whose signatories include the attorneys general of Florida, New Mexico and New York. “KOSA to put in place better safeguards for minors online.” It also urges Congress to pass final language that would not prohibit states from enacting and enforcing stricter rules.
Moving the bill forward would be an uphill battle. KOSA (along with a related bill called COPPA 2.0) passed the Senate almost unanimously in July, but this bipartisan support broke down in the House, where a committee reluctantly passed it to the full House with numerous complaints and promised amendments. Among other provisions, KOSA would establish that large social media platforms have a “legal duty of care” to children. but in the middle lobby against the technology companies billBoth Republican and Democratic critics argue that it could easily become a vehicle for censoring content that its opponents consider harmful, including LGBTQ posts for Democrats and anti-abortion content for Republicans.
A particularly contentious issue has been whether state attorneys general can sue under the law; the Senate version allows states to enforce some servings of KOSA but not the central rule of the duty of care. Several states have already filed numerous, albeit largely preliminary, lawsuits against companies like Snap, Meta and TikTok under consumer protection laws.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has noted that the chances of KOSA passing are low, calling invoice details “very problematic” last month. And while President-elect Donald Trump has an appetite for legal action against tech companies, he has said little about child safety laws, so the chances of a new version passing are also uncertain.
