Reactions to the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act Passing the Senate

On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the United States Senate passed the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA) in a decisive 91-3 vote, mere days before the August recess. This outcome was widely anticipated following a cloture vote last week, where senators agreed near-unanimously to hold a floor vote without debate or amendment, clearing the path for the bill's passage.

In the wake of this significant development, child safety advocates, digital rights groups, technology companies, and other stakeholders have issued a variety of responses. The following is a compilation of public statements and reactions from a sample of key organizations working on child online safety and digital rights.

Related: Read more perspectives on KOSA

Statements against KOSPA

Carl Szabo, Vice President and General Counsel, NetChoice

“Parents need solutions that are legal and meaningful, but KOSA is neither. KOSA’s data privacy, cybersecurity, censorship, and constitutional risks remain unaddressed. NetChoice hopes to work with lawmakers in the House to protect minors and families from KOSA’s many issues. Lawmakers must recognize that an unconstitutional law will help no one. Despite today’s Senate vote, better policy solutions are still available for consideration, including adequately funding law enforcement to appropriately prosecute online predators through the bipartisan Invest in Child Safety Act. NetChoice also has several additional recommendations that we’re keen to work on with lawmakers looking for real solutions.”

Read the full statement here.

Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union

“KOSA compounds nationwide attacks on young people’s right to learn and access information, on and offline. As state legislatures and school boards across the country impose book bans and classroom censorship laws, the last thing students and parents need is another act of government censorship, deciding which educational resources are appropriate for their families. The House must block this dangerous bill before it’s too late.”

Read the full statement here.

Evan Greer, Director, Fight for the Future

“KOSA will make kids less safe rather than more safe, and advancing it in the Senate actually helps Big Tech stay in power and avoid real regulation. We need strong privacy, antitrust, and algorithmic justice legislation to address the harms of Big Tech’s monopoly power and surveillance-driven business model, not blatantly unconstitutional censorship bills that will do more harm than good and won’t hold up in court. We’re going to stop KOSA in the house and keep fighting for legislation that cracks down on Big Tech without throwing human rights under the bus.”

Read the full statement here.

Joe Mullin, Senior Policy Analyst, Electronic Frontier Foundation

“We can’t rely solely on lawsuits and courts to protect us from the growing wave of anti-speech internet legislation, with KOSA at its forefront. We need to let the people making the laws know that the public is becoming aware of their censorship plans—and won’t stand for them.”

Read the full statement here.

Advocates for Youth

“Advocates for Youth is disappointed by the recent Senate passage of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and remains steadfast in our opposition to this legislation, recognizing its potential to censor critical and potentially life-saving resources, including sex education and sexual health materials, from young people. Young people deserve access to accurate information about their bodies and sexuality, this includes digital and online spaces. Restricting young people’s access to certain online information or increasing online surveillance does not actually solve the problem that so many online safety bills, like KOSA, seek to address. We remain concerned about the dangerous trend of policymakers targeting young people under the guise of protection, limiting access to whatever they deem inappropriate, including restricting health services, banning books, censoring sex education, and any topics related to race, gender, and sexual orientation. KOSA and other online safety bills are a part of this trend, regardless of the bipartisan nature they espouse.”

Read the full statement here.

Carlos Gutierrez, Deputy Director and General Counsel, LGBT Tech

“In a disappointing move, the Senate has passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), allowing federal and state governments to investigate and sue websites deemed harmful to minors. LGBT Tech has been unwavering in voicing our continued concerns around KOSA, in particular the risks its language poses for the LGBTQ+ community. The bill’s vague requirements and potential for overreach continue to threaten the constitutionally protected speech of marginalized communities like ours. We urge the House to vote against this legislation unless these critical issues are addressed.”

Read the full statement here.

Statements in Support of KOSPA

Nicole Gill, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Accountable Tech

“The Senate passage of KOSA and COPPA 2.0 is a long overdue step toward ensuring the online safety and privacy of children and young people who, for decades, have been exploited and monetized by Big Tech without consequence. Today’s near unanimous, bipartisan vote has shown that advocates for accountability – including the many young people and parents who spent years on Capitol Hill sharing their experiences of harm at the hands of Big Tech – are more powerful than the biggest companies in the world and their industry lobbyists.

“We applaud Senators Blumenthal, Blackburn, and Markey, and Leader Schumer for championing kids’ online safety and prioritizing our kids’ wellbeing over Big Tech’s pursuit of profit. This is a major turning point in our movement’s efforts to take on tech’s outsized influence on the lives of young people. We now look to the House of Representatives to bring this bill to a vote so that we can finally regulate an industry that has used its power and wealth to protect its own interests over the public good for far too long.”

Read the full statement here.

Zamaan Qureshi, Co-Chair, Design It For Us

“This marks a monumental milestone as the Senate has overwhelmingly passed legislation that stands up to Big Tech and tells platforms to design their products with us in mind. This is a significant moment for many of my peers and me as Congress takes a major step to passing legislation that would protect our generation online for the first time in 26 years. I am so proud of the work that our coalition of youth activists has done to get the KOSA and COPPA 2.0 through the US Senate.”

“We have met with dozens of Senators and their staff and have spent countless hours telling our stories and urging Congress to act. Now it is up to the House of Representatives, Speaker Johnson, and Leader Jeffries to deliver for young people, bring KOSA and COPPA 2.0 to a vote, and send it to the president’s desk. I want to thank Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn for their undying support for the young people who have come forward on countless occasions to tell their stories in support of the bill.”

Read the full statement here.

Sacha Haworth, Executive Director, The Tech Oversight Project

“Today’s overwhelming vote in the Senate represents a huge victory for parents and kids and a sharp rebuke to the Big Tech companies that have knowingly endangered and exploited our kids for profit. As advocates for children's health, online safety, and tech accountability, we're thrilled to see this day, and we applaud the overwhelming number of Senators who backed this groundbreaking legislation. Today’s vote is a huge win for holding companies like Meta, TikTok, Google, and Snap accountable and protecting America’s youth. In the face of fierce Big Tech lobbying, this victory shows the power of youth and parent advocates who pushed tirelessly for change. The Kids Online Safety Act will shift responsibility to platforms, demanding that companies stop prioritizing engagement metrics and ad revenue over children’s well-being, and instead give young people and parents better controls and a safer online experience. Now, we urge the House to act quickly and pass this bill into law. This is a public health crisis, and protecting young lives can't wait.”

Read the full statement here.

Alix Fraser, Director of the Council for Responsible Social Media, Issue One

“Today, an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Senate voted to protect our children and teens from the social media harms that have plagued American families for far too long. The Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act will fundamentally shift the balance of power online from tech executives to American families, and make the internet a safer, healthier place. Thanks to the leadership of Senators Blackburn, Blumenthal, Leader Schumer, and most importantly, all the tireless parent and youth advocates, we are one step closer to enacting historic social media safeguards. It’s now time for the House to follow the Senate’s lead and pass the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act.”

Read the full statement here.

Ash Johnson, Senior Policy Manager, The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)

"Congress has been rightfully prioritizing data privacy and children’s online safety this session, finally addressing the patchwork of state legislation that has arisen in the absence of a federal standard. But rushing to pass flawed bills will not effectively protect children and will only make the regulatory landscape worse for businesses and consumers. KOSA aims to protect minors on social media platforms from content that is harmful to children, but in so doing opens the door to censorship by the FTC, which would have the power to decide what qualifies as harmful, and platforms, which may over-censor content to avoid liability. Meanwhile, COPPA 2.0 would build on existing children’s privacy legislation, creating additional protections for teens. It includes some provisions that would be overly burdensome to businesses that already comply in good faith with existing children’s privacy laws, such as a ban on targeted advertising to anyone under 17, cutting off revenue for ad-supported online services targeted at teenagers. This country needs children’s online safety and privacy legislation that strikes the right balance between protecting consumers without infringing on their free speech rights or stifling innovation, which KOSA and COPPA 2.0 fail to do."

Read the full statement here.

Libby Liu, CEO, Whistleblower Aid

"Whistleblower Aid is encouraged by the Senate passing KOSA on National Whistleblower Day, finally holding Big Tech accountable for their reckless endangerment of children online, as revealed by our client, Frances Haugen. Whistleblowers like Frances Haugen play a vital role in sounding the alarm on society’s most destructive issues, and today demonstrates that their courage and sacrifice can lead to meaningful change. Frances’ bravery has inspired others to come forward to help build the guardrails we need so technology holds a more positive and responsible place in our lives online and off. KOSA is a great step forward in that direction."

James P. Steyer, Founder and CEO, Common Sense Media

"We thank the Senators for taking this crucial and significant step to safeguard the well-being of kids and teens, and we now urge the House of Representatives to take up this bill and pass it when they return in September and send it to the president for his signature. No more delays. This is a bill that almost everyone in Congress can and should get behind. Every day that passes, more children suffer the harmful side effects of products that are designed to addict kids under the guise of engagement, and drive profits at the expense of their mental health. As we have seen in the Senate, this is a bipartisan and popular issue and our kids should no longer be the collateral damage for Big Tech's profits."

"Alongside hundreds of other advocacy organizations and experts, Common Sense has been pushing for years on behalf of children who have experienced the many devastating harms of social media use and have had their personal data exploited. We've backed the update to the federal children's privacy law for 14 years, and the online safety measure since it was introduced in 2021, after Congressional hearings from Big Tech CEOs, whistleblowers, non-profits, parents, and youth. Congress cannot kick the can down the road any longer – now that the Senate has advanced, the House must follow suit and Congress will then and once and for all be able to proudly say that it has finally taken meaningful action to protect America's children, teens, and families."

Read the full statement here.