Google, Meta and their Big Tech allies are stoking anger on both sides of the aisle in a desperate bid to derail the Kids Online Safety Act, which critics say is at the expense of minors. They say it is a cynical attempt to protect their own interests.
Critics of KOSA say the bill imposes a legal “duty of care” to ensure social media apps protect children from sexual abuse, drug addiction, and dangerous stunts that can lead to injury or death. It is described as a bill.
Sources say that in a development that has infuriated KOSA supporters on Capitol Hill, Big Tech supporters appear to be tailoring their messages depending on which constituencies they are trying to influence. .
NetChoice, an influential center-right tech industry group, claims that KOSA is unconstitutional and would give the government “increased government power over family decision-making.” In other places, Opponents of the bill circulated an unsigned memo that read: KOSA said Democrats pose a “huge threat to pro-life organizations” that could allow them to “shut down the pro-life movement.”
Meanwhile, the Left Progressive Chamber called the bill “anti-LGBTQ+” and claimed that the Heritage Foundation, which supports KOSA, would use it to advance “an extremist 'Project 2025' agenda.”
“They're on everyone's radar,” said Alix Fraser, director of the Council for Responsible Social Media. “This is a comprehensive and truly massive effort by them to dilute trust between the left and the right. They are committed to divide and conquer.”
Lobbying has intensified amid clear signs that KOSA and a companion bill, called COPPA 2.0, have broad bipartisan support in Congress. The Senate passed the bills by an astonishing 91-3 margin in July. A House committee advanced the child safety bill earlier this month, clearing the way for a floor vote.
Still, it remains unclear whether the bill will pass the stalled House by the end of the year. Congress is in recess until after the 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5, giving the bill's sponsors in the House little time to craft and pass a final version.
both google and Mark Zuckerberg's Mehta filed further lobbying efforts There were more disclosures related to KOSA than any other bill in 2024, according to OpenSecrets records.
“We support the development of age-appropriate standards for online teens and support KOSA's efforts to create consistent rules for the industry to follow,” Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts said in a statement. I am grateful.” “However, we believe there are better ways to empower parents to supervise their teens' online experiences. Federal law requires that when teens under 16 download apps, App stores should require parental approval.”
Representatives for Google and NetChoice did not respond to requests for comment.
Meta, TikTok's parent company ByteDance, Snap, X, and Discord (the five social media companies called to testify in January at a Senate hearing on bombshell statements about online harm to minors) will be released in 2023. Alone, he spent a whopping $30 million on KOSA and other tech-related lobbying efforts. according to the invoice Disclosure information compiled by Issue One.
In the first half of 2024, Mehta's lobbying spending increased 43% to a company record $13.6 million. ByteDance's spending soared 65% to a record $6 million, an increase that coincided with efforts to avoid a proposed TikTok sale.
“Big tech companies and their front groups are spreading lies about KOSA,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), co-lead sponsor of KOSA, said in a statement to the Post. “Their goal is to maximize profits, not protect children.”
There are signs that some lawmakers are spooked by Big Tech's talking points. Anonymous House Leadership Aide recently spoke to Hill He said the bill “could lead to censorship of conservative speech.”
The mysterious unsigned memo used in the KOSA attack contained many of the same talking points as the eerily similar memo that alerted lawmakers last June. American Privacy Rights Actanother bill aimed at reining in Big Tech.
Some language remained in both memos, including the assertion that the bill “could have a chilling effect on the work of pro-life organizations.”
The author of the memo is unknown, but sources say tech industry groups were likely involved.
Kara Frederick, a former Facebook executive and director of the Heritage Foundation's Center for Technology Policy, said the technology lobby is using “red-blooded, emotional and The company is relying on “maintenance issues.”
“To me, it's very clear what they're trying to do,” Frederick said. “They're just trying to kill the bill because they're exchanging bills even though they're fundamentally different in content and substance.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) initially expressed support for KOSA when it passed the Senate, but has not yet said whether or when he will bring it to the floor for a vote.
During the House committee's evaluation of KOSA, some Democratic lawmakers criticized the House bill's decision to remove mental health hazards such as anxiety and depression from the duty of care, saying the bill would be less effective than the bill passed by the Senate. also claimed to be much weaker.
The concession is seen as an attempt to allay concerns that the definition of mental health disorder is too vague, raising the risk of unfair enforcement.
On the eve of a House committee hearing on KOSA, Mehta announced a series of safety updates for Instagram aimed at minors, a move that is clearly an attempt to placate lawmakers and avoid meaningful enforcement. It was quickly condemned by online watchdogs as an attempt to do so.
Several other technology funding groups oppose the bill, including the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Electric Frontier Foundation, and TechFreedom.
Critics have also focused on the FTC's role in enforcing the duty of care under KOSA, arguing that it effectively gives unelected officials the power to police online content. .
Rather than moderating specific posts, the bill's supporters, including Blackburn, focused on ensuring that recommendation algorithms and product design features such as autoplay videos do not expose children to harmful content. He claims to have guessed.
The bill makes no changes to Section 230, the law that protects technology companies from liability for third-party posts on their platforms. It also includes language that allows teens to search for specific content on their own.
If KOSA passes, it will advance other long-delayed legislation aimed at reining in Big Tech, including the potential repeal of Section 230 and comprehensive data privacy laws similar to those imposed in Europe. will gain momentum.
“They are fighting tooth and nail because they know that once restrictions are lifted, everything will change,” Fraser said.
TikTok officials noted that a significant portion of lobbying spending is related to stock vesting as part of regular compensation for employees on internal policy teams.
Last January, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the company could support KOSA with some changes.
“We are not lobbying on this bill and any insinuations to the contrary are simply false,” TikTok spokesperson Alex Howrek said in a statement.
Discord also refused to take a stand. Meanwhile, Snap and X broke ties with the tech industry to support the bill.
