In a commendable move towards putting child safety to the fore, the Senate has displayed overwhelming bipartisan support for the renewed Kids Online Safety Act. The Act, primarily sponsored by Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), has recently been revised to address concerns and secure extensive support.
Sixty-two senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), have co-sponsored the bill to make online platforms safer for children and adolescents.
What's New in the Kids Online Safety Act?
The freshly revised bill has emerged as one of the top legislative proposals seeking to bolster online safety measures for young users. It further formalizes the legal compulsion for online platforms to protect children and introduces changes in enforcement strategies.
Schumer's emphatic endorsement significantly raises the bill's prospects of passage. This widespread approval comes at a time when Congress is highly divided over various issues related to child safety and mental health concerns on social platforms.
However, the Act has drawn mixed responses. Critics argue it may push social media companies to gather more personal data from young users and initiate heavy content regulation. This raises concerns about impinging on individual privacy rights and freedom of speech. They also worry about enabling state attorneys general to censor potentially harmful speech.
But the bill's advocates reiterate its aim to keep young users safe online. Their commitment lies in the details of the new provisions that clarify companies' legal duty to pre-empt harm to children from their platforms.
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Addressing the Duty of Care and Other Key Changes
The refurbished bill provides specific directions for managing the "duty of care" provision, placing the onus on online companies to protect young users. Legal accountability has been spelled out in more precise terms to prevent a range of harms, such as eating disorders, substance abuse, and cyberbullying, which specific platform designs and features may fuel.
Significantly, the revised bill transfers the enforcement of the duty of care clause to the Federal Trade Commission instead of state attorneys general. Other changes include a mandate for online platforms to protect children's data and limit platform designs that encourage extensive social media usage.
Less than a month after a heated Senate hearing on child protection online, the new bill is a relief for parents and advocates vying for more substantial reform.
Will the Kids Online Safety Act Pass?
Despite the previous versions of the bill not gaining much traction, the latest update, helped by Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and ranking member Ted Cruz (R-Texas), has stirred renewed hope for progress. Various advocacy groups have enthusiastically rallied for the bill's adoption.
Josh Golin, executive director of the online child safety advocacy group Fairplay, lauded the bill for its potential to "disrupt social media's toxic business model." He praised the additional Senate co-sponsors as evidence of bipartisan consensus on child safety issues.
Furthermore, there are signs of industry approval, with tech firms such as Snap Inc. and Microsoft Corp. endorsing the updated measure.
However, hurdles remain. Some tech trade groups argue the new text still gives undue power to right-wing attorneys general to police online speech. The Act's potential censoring effect on speech has constitutional implications.
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