Ding Dong KOSA’s Dead (For Now)

Broken clocks may be accidentally correct twice a day, and sometimes those broken clocks save the internet. The House GOP has killed KOSA over unclear “concerns” about the version of KOSA that was approved earlier this week. There were rumors this might happen, but in a note at the bottom of a Punchbowl News Congressional roundup, there’s a short report that, effectively, KOSA is dead in the House:

Breaking news: The House Republican leadership won’t bring up the children’s online safety bill that the Senate passed with 91 votes on Tuesday.

A House GOP leadership aide told us this about KOSA: “We’ve heard concerns across our Conference and the Senate bill cannot be brought up in its current form.”

This is good news, though things can always change. But it seems the message about the serious problems with KOSA is getting across. It remains disappointing that Democrats broadly supported this bill that would have been used to suppress LGBTQ content. Of course, the worry is always that an even worse version of KOSA may reappear at some point.

Still, with the GOP killing it, it sounds like Senator Rand Paul’s really excellent letter laying out the reasons he couldn’t support the bill may have had an impact. That letter was quite clear and direct about the very real problems with the bill, and presented them in a non-partisan, non-culture war fashion. Once again, a portion of the letter:

KOSA would impose an unprecedented “duty of care” on internet platforms to mitigate certain harms associated with mental health, such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. While proponents of the bill claim that it is not designed to regulate content, imposing a “duty of care” on online platforms to mitigate harms associated with mental health can only lead to one outcome: the stifling of First Amendment protected speech.

Should platforms stop children from seeing climate-related news because climate change is one of the leading sources of anxiety amongst younger generations? Should they stop children from seeing coverage of international conflicts because it could lead to depression? Should pro-life groups have their content censored because platforms worry that it could impact the mental well-being of teenage mothers? This bill opens the door to nearly limitless content regulation.

The bill contains a number of vague provisions and undefined terms. The text does not explain what it means for a platform to “prevent and mitigate” harm, nor does it define “addiction-like behaviors.” Additionally, the bill does not explicitly define the term “mental health disorder.” Instead, it references the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders or “the most current successor edition.” As such, the definition could change without any input from Congress.

We do not impose these types of burdens on any other sector of the economy. For example, the bill seeks to protect minors from alcohol and gambling ads on certain online platforms. However, minors can turn on the TV to watch the Super Bowl or the PGA tour and see the exact same ads without any problem.

This bill is a Trojan Horse. It claims to protect our children, but in reality, it stifles free speech and deprives Americans of the numerous benefits created by the internet.

Hopefully, arguments like these were why it was killed, rather than some nonsense about it not having more censorial powers.

I’m sure this isn’t over, given the forces that lined up in favor of KOSA. It’s always possible someone tries to bring it back to life toward the end of the year, but hopefully this means that KOSA is dead for this session of Congress.