{"id":656,"date":"2024-06-27T19:38:59","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T19:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filipzajac.me\/?p=656"},"modified":"2024-07-01T03:10:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T03:10:06","slug":"advocates-blast-house-for-holding-kids-online-safety-act-hostage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/filipzajac.me\/index.php\/2024\/06\/27\/advocates-blast-house-for-holding-kids-online-safety-act-hostage\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocates blast House for holding Kids Online Safety Act \u2018hostage’"},"content":{"rendered":"
Advocates pushing for social media regulations to keep kids safe online blasted the House for cancelling a Thursday markup<\/a> of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) amid opposition to a separate data privacy bill also slated to be considered.\u00a0<\/p>\n A House Energy and Commerce Committee markup of 11 bills, including KOSA and the American Privacy Rights Act, was cancelled Thursday shortly before it was scheduled to begin after House Republican leaders strongly resisted<\/a> the privacy bill. \u00a0<\/p>\n Child online safety advocates slammed the decision to cancel the markup and said Congress should take action on KOSA separate from other tech bills, including the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA). \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo me this is hostage taking,\u201d said Josh Golin, executive director of the advocacy group Fairplay for Kids. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[The committee] could have marked up KOSA without APRA,\u201d Golin added, noting that Congress has been \u201ctrying for decades\u201d to pass a comprehensive data privacy bill. \u00a0<\/p>\n “There\u2019s no reason why families should have to wait for that in order to have a safer internet,\u201d Golin added. \u00a0<\/p>\n KOSA would create regulations for how social media companies operate for minors and has gained momentum after years of hearings featuring tech company CEOs and whistleblowers about the harms social media has on youth mental health.\u00a0<\/p>\n The bill would require companies to limit access or allow minors to opt out of certain features, like automatic video playing and algorithmic recommendations, and also legally obligate the platforms to prevent the promotion of content about certain topics, such as suicide, eating disorders and self-harm. \u00a0<\/p>\n The bill faced opposition from some civil society groups who feared the duty of care standard could be interpreted in a way that could limit teens from accessing information about gender identity, sexuality and reproductive health. The text of the bill has been updated in response to concerns raised, and in February several LGBTQ advocacy groups, including GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign, withdrew their opposition<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n Danny Weiss, chief advocacy officer for the advocacy group Common Sense Media, also slammed the House committee for holding KOSA \u201chostage\u201d over their failure to pass a data privacy bill and urged Congress to act on the bill without consideration of other legislation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCongress has once again failed to reach agreement on comprehensive privacy legislation and is holding bipartisan and popular legislation to protect kids\u2019 online safety and privacy hostage as a result,\u201d Weiss said in a statement. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cKids, teens, and their families are paying the price for Congress\u2019 dereliction of duty to protect them online. As we have said before, the House and the Senate should move ahead immediately with consideration of #KOSA and #COPPA2 regardless of other legislation under consideration. And we stand ready to help the House and the Senate to do just that,\u201d Weiss added. \u00a0<\/p>\n