Fight for the Future statement on the Kids Online Safety Act
Reports indicate that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer intends to file cloture and move the dangerous and misguided Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) to a floor vote in the Senate, despite widespread opposition from dozens of LGBTQ, civil liberties, and human rights groups. Hundreds of parents of trangender youth have begged lawmakers to consider alternatives to KOSA. Queer and trans youth showed up at Pride events this June with banners and signs opposing the bill.
Fight for the Future issued the following statement, which can be attributed to the group’s director, Evan Greer (she/her):
“This is not about protecting kids. This is about Senators getting to claim they’re protecting kids ahead of the election. It makes me sick to my stomach. Experts have repeatedly warned that KOSA would make kids less safe, rather than more safe. Lawmakers could have advanced strong privacy, antitrust and algorithmic justice legislation to actually address the harm of Big Tech and crack down on surveillance-driven business practices that harm young people and adults. Instead, they’re advancing what amounts to a blank check for censorship that can and will be used to suppress lifesaving online resources.
Under a potential Trump administration, the FTC could easily use KOSA to target content related to gender affirming care, abortion, racial justice, climate change, or anything else that Project 2025 infused agency is willing to claim makes kids “depressed” or “anxious.”
LGBTQ youth have led the charge against KOSA. And they’ve succeeded in forcing some important changes to text. But despite misleading claims from supporters, the changes to KOSA have not addressed the fatal flaws with the bill.
Leader Schumer’s decision to put KOSA on the floor is deeply cynical. With vocal opposition from the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, House leadership, and even the youngest member of the House, Maxwell Frost, KOSA currently has no path to becoming law. The recent Supreme Court decision makes it clear even if it somehow did become law, it would be almost immediately overturned because it’s blatantly unconstitutional.
So Big Tech will continue getting away with murder, because Senate leadership are choosing to score political points rather than advance thoughtful legislation. For shame.”
Fight for the Future runs StopKOSA.com, a coalition that includes dozens of human rights, LGBTQ, abortion rights, and racial justice groups who oppose KOSA:
18 Million Rising, Access Now, Advocacy For Principled Action In Government, Advocates for Youth, American Booksellers for Free Expression, American Civil Liberties Union, Black and Pink National, Center for Democracy & Technology, COLAGE, Defending Rights & Dissent, Don’t Delete Art, EducateUS: SIECUS In Action, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Equality Arizona, Equality Michigan, Equality New Mexico, Equality Texas, Equality Virginia, Fair Wisconsin, Fairness Campaign, Fight for the Future, Free Speech Coalition, Freedom Network USA, Freedom Oklahoma, Hydra Fund, Indivisible Eastside, Indivisible Plus Washington, Internet Society, Kairos, Lexington Pride Center, LGBT Technology Partnership, Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, Media Justice, Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity, National Coalition Against Censorship, One Iowa, Open Technology Institute, Organization for Identity and Cultural Development (OICD), Organization for Transformative Works, Organización Latina Trans in Texas, OutNebraska, PDX Privacy, Presente.org, Reframe Health and Justice, Reprocare, Restore The Fourth, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, St. Louis Queer+ Support, Helpline, SWOP Behind Bars, TAKE, TechFreedom, The 6:52 Project Foundation, Inc., Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), TransOhio, University of Michigan Dearborn – Muslim Student Association, URGE, WA People’s Privacy. Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Yale Privacy Lab
See a deep dive on how KOSA would be weaponized against LGBTQ youth here: https://www.them.us/story/kids-online-safety-act-kosa-youth-lgbtq-content
And a blog post explaining how KOSA has divided a coalition that otherwise could take on Big Tech and win real reform to address harm: https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2024-07-01-weve-been-fighting-each-other-while-big-tech-gets-away-with-murder-to-win-liberatory-tech-policy-we-need-a-unified-strategy-and-a-clear-division-of-labor/
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