Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says the KIDS Act is a ‘smoke screen’ for what Big Tech lobbyists want.
A package of child safety bills is headed to the House floor following an hours-long session that left Democrats and Republicans divided. On Thursday, lawmakers on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce voted to advance the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act; Sammy’s Law; and the App Store Accountability Act, which would require app stores to introduce age-gating.
The KIDS Act, which is sponsored by Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), encompasses several child safety laws. That includes a version of the latest House Republican update to the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) without the “duty of care” provision central to the Senate’s bipartisan version of the bill, which requires big tech platforms to mitigate risks to minors.
Several Democrats opposed the law, arguing it would prevent states from strengthening online protections for young users. KOSA has been introduced in several forms over the past few years, but has repeatedly failed to pass.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said the KIDS Act uses child safety as a “smoke screen” for the desires of Big Tech lobbyists. “What big tech lobbyists want is a national surveillance program where they can harvest the private and personal data of every American with zero actual protections for people,” Ocasio-Cortez said. She also called out Discord, which pulled back its plans for age verification after facing fierce backlash from users over concerns about security and privacy, as well as its partnership with the third-party verification platform, Persona.
