The Child Online Safety Act (KOSA) passed the Senate on Tuesday with bipartisan support, with Senator Rand Paul effectively being the only person to oppose it.
“I have a lot of sympathy for this issue,” Sen. Paul (R-Ky.) told The Washington Post, “but I worry that it could lead to censorship.”
The bill, which passed with 91 votes in favor, is an attempt to protect children from harm online by creating a “duty of care” for social media platforms to protect minors and require them to moderate potentially harmful content.
Paul said the bill was well-intentioned but could allow the government to censor speech that it subjectively determines is disturbing to young people.
“The very idea of setting up a committee, giving it a vague definition of unrest and then giving the body the power to regulate anything that causes unrest is bizarre,” Paul added.
He noted the “absurdity of the fear theory,” explaining that virtually anything can be deemed fear-inducing by the Federal Trade Commission. be responsible for enforcement From KOSA.
Paul cited a Harvard University study that found 65% of people between the ages of 15 and 30 worry about climate change on a regular basis, so KOSA could theoretically be used to censor content about it.
“I would be one of the first people to get kicked off the internet because I’m sure I’m saying things that are going to make people feel uneasy,” the senator said. “I think it would be really dangerous to have the government regulate this or take it down.”
Paul said he was concerned that censorship could be aimed at people of any political persuasion, pointing to groups from both parties that have spoken out against KOSA.
The conservative Students for Life organization Worried about pro-life content For example, their programs may be censored because they are disturbing to children.
Similarly, the ACLU has expressed concerns about how pro-abortion and LGBT content is censored. Warning against actions “It would violate the First Amendment by enabling the federal government to dictate what information people can access online and encourage social media platforms to censor protected speech.”
Paul worries that the bill’s vague standards could lead to mass self-censorship of political speech online.
“Some people may feel they need to self-censor or not feature too many sensational topics on their websites or streaming services because if kids are watching, state attorneys general will be policing them,” he said.
Now that the bill has passed the Senate, the House could take it up for a vote at any time.
Only Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) joined Paul. Vote against KOSAThe bill was introduced by Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal and Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn.
“There are people on the right and the left who misunderstand the First Amendment,” Paul said.
He added that he had voiced his criticisms of KOSA to his colleagues and many shared his concerns but still voted in favor.
“They’re embarrassed to change their vote,” he said. “They know they’ll get bashed because the title sounds good. They read the title, ‘Children’s Online Safety Act,’ and they think, ‘How dare I vote against this?'”
“I dare say, [senators] “They don’t read the bill,” he continued. “They do it for their own self-righteousness. They do it to signal their virtue.”
Paul said KOSA was passed primarily because of its moral importance.
“this is, [a] “These are social ills that we want to solve in Washington,” he said. “I don’t think this is going to save lives. It’s just going to create bureaucracy, and the terms are vague. I have no idea what this means. [FTC] What is the group going to do?”
Paul said he doesn’t think KOSA is the answer, but he’s open to a minimum age restriction on social media: “Even just having an age minimum would make a difference. It probably wouldn’t be so bad.”
She also said parents, not politicians, should decide what content and social media platforms are appropriate for children.
“The hypocrisy of conservatives is they’re all for family values and parents and all that, but they say the government needs to step in in this case.”
