Why The Kids Online Safety Act Is So Hard To Love

What’s not to like?

A bill that addresses the harms our kids suffer on social media and demands the highest forms of safety and privacy in one act of Congress. Isn’t this what we’ve been crying out for? Doesn’t this take on the platforms and apps that have caused the mental health epidemic in the US and overseas? Won’t this solve what some have warned us has already overtaken an entire generation?

The Kids Online Safety Act, recently passed through the Senate, is the most significant legislation this century to address the potential risks and harms associated with social media. In the upper chamber, at least, it received overwhelming bi-partisan support and the President has enthusiastically offered to sign the bill. However, it is headed to an uncertain future in the House.

So why is this bill, which is now combined with a privacy bill and called the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA) so problematic and challenging for many of us working in the online safety space?