Alright, it's official. The dangerous & misguided Kids Online Safety Act (#KOSA) will go to a "mark up" vote in the House Energy & Commerce Committee this morning, Thursday, May 23. THIS IS JUST A SUBCOMMITTEE VOTE. WE CAN STILL STOP OR FIX THIS BILL! https://www.stopkosa.com
Some important things: First, #KOSAhas not been fixed. There have been several rounds of changes to the bill, some of which have convinced large DC-based NGOs to drop their opposition, but there is still a large coalition of LGBTQ, human rights, racial justice groups opposed.
US Congress is attempting to slip the Kids Online Safety Act into the must-pass FAA reauthorization package. The bill claims to make kids safer, but it’s really a dangerous censorship bill that will give the US government unprecedented control over the Internet.
US Americans: call your representatives NOW to oppose KOSA. This website gives you the phone numbers and script:
It's wild that all the #LGBTQ nonprofits are suddenly on board with #KOSA. Big mistake they will come to regret. Why do we keep handing more power to our government even as fascists attempt to take over?
Hey btw everyone should be panicking about KOSA. This bill would require everyone to upload your government ID in order to use most sites on the internet.
Nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation also maintained its opposition. Activism director Jason Kelley said KOSA “remains a dangerous and unconstitutional censorship bill” and advocated instead for comprehensive privacy protections for all."
I just called my Senators and let them know I am absolutely opposed to #KOSA becoming law and, for #Baldwin, my horror that someone also a member of the #LGBTQ community as I am would think this bill does anything apart from putting the community in danger.
🚨@CenDemTech appreciates the efforts made by Sen Blumenthal and other co-sponsors to make changes to #KOSA. Overall, the changes improve the bill — but many of our concerns related to overcensorship of content valuable to young people still remain.
The revised #KOSA will still incentivize online services to limit recommending content that government actors might claim harm youth mental health, potentially including speech about repro rights, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ issues that can be critically important to many young people.
One-size-fits-all approach to online safety won’t keep kids safe. Underlying #KOSA is a belief that there’s consensus re: type of content/design features causing harm to young people. Applying that reasoning limits teens from exercising agency/accessing communities benefiting them
US Senate Bill 1409: Kids Online Safety Act (www.congress.gov)
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