Kids Online Safety Act Advances to House Amid Concerns Over Free Speech and Civil Rights

The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, designed to protect minors from age-inappropriate online content, will head to the House floor for a vote. But critics say that the bill could also be used to curb civil rights.

The Kids Online Safety Act was first introduced to the Senate in 2022 under President Joe Biden. It would require online platforms to offer settings that control how minors use the sites and also limit the collection of their personal data. 

However, opponents of the bill say that the definition of “harmful content” could extend to legitimate sites, including those concerning mental health and transgender rights. The American Civil Liberties Union warns that the legislation could affect the First Amendment’s protections of free speech.

“The overbroad language in KOSA and similar legislation risks censoring everything from jokes and hyperbole to useful information about sex ed and suicide prevention,” said the ACLU’s Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel.

The bill also directs federal agencies to study the feasibility of “creating a device- or operating system–level age verification system,” but it doesn’t require platforms to implement such a system.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee met on Thursday and advanced the legislation to the full House for consideration. However, lawmakers still need to set a specific calendar date for that floor vote.

The proposed legislation follows a global trend toward restricting the kinds of online material children have access to. Last year, the UK introduced its Online Safety Act, which requires platforms that host adult content or other age-inappropriate material to implement robust age-verification checks to prevent minors from accessing it.

On March 28, Indonesia will bar children under 16 from accessing social media, following a similar ban in Australia.