Still, the bill has faced criticism from groups on all sides of the political divide. KOSMA would require social media companies to delete the accounts of anyone under the age of 13 and prohibit those users from creating any new accounts. It would also ban platforms from using their algorithms to deliver personalized content to anyone under the age of 17 and withhold technology funding from schools that failed to block social media platforms on all networks and devices.
Both tech lobbies and free speech-oriented groups have expressed concern about the use of invasive age verification technology for users of all ages. KOSMA contains a provision stating that the bill wouldn’t require platforms to use age verification tools, but it’s not clear how the law could be enforced without them.
Advocates for civil liberties have also opposed the bill on the grounds of maintaining channels for communication and free expression online. Left-leaning nonprofit group Fight for the Future characterized the bill as a “pathetic fart amid the Democratic party’s spineless flailing,” specifically calling out Schatz for backing the bill “at a time when youth-led organizing and access to information is at its most essential, particularly for queer youth, immigrant youth, and youth of color whose communities are being targeted amid Trump’s unprecedented power grab.” For once, some parties on the other side agree. “If your son likes hockey and it gives him more hockey information, I don’t know that that would bother me,” said Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice during a Fox News appearance on Wednesday (via Gizmodo). “I just don’t know that I want the government making those decisions for my family.”
Multiple groups, including Fight for the Future, the ACLU, and the Center for Democracy & Technology, also signed an open letter this week warning that KOSMA would “actively undermine child safety, harm marginalized youth, erode privacy, and impose unconstitutional restrictions on young people’s ability to engage online.” “Protecting young people online is an important and urgent goal for all, but KOSMA takes the wrong approach,” the letter reads. “Instead of banning accounts, forcing surveillance, and removing key safety features, policymakers should focus on protecting all users’ privacy, enforcing existing laws against child exploitation, and ensuring young people can safely navigate digital spaces.”
