Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk over the weekend called on Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
“We can protect free speech and our kids at the same time from Big Tech. It’s time for House Republicans to pass the Kids Online Safety Act ASAP,” Trump Jr. wrote on Sunday.
Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, said that she and the company are urging for the passage of KOSA after the bill text had been updated to address some concerns:
At X, protecting our children is our top priority. As I’ve always said, freedom of speech and safety can and must coexist. And as a mother, it’s personal. When X testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last January, we committed to working with Congress on child safety legislation. We’ve heard the pleas of parents and youth advocates who seek sensible guardrails across online platforms, and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) addresses that need. After working with the bill authors, I’m proud to share that we’ve made progress to further protect freedom of speech while maintaining safety for minors online. Thank you to @MarshaBlackburn and @SenBlumenthal for your leadership, dedication and collaboration on this issue and landmark legislation. We urge Congress and the House to pass the Kids Online Safety Act this year.
“Protecting kids should always be priority #1,” Musk replied.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has led the led the push to pass the legislation.
The Kids Online Safety Act aims to empower parents to take control over children’s online experiences to protect their health and well-being, and the Open App Markets Act, a bill that would break up the Apple and Google app store duopoly.
The Kids Online Safety Act passed in the Senate with an overwhelming 91-3 vote, and now advocates hope to get it through the House.
It faces an uncertain fate, as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) oppose the bill, as currently written.
On Tuesday, advocates plan to hold a rally on Tuesday to have it pass through Congress’s lower chamber. This includes:
- Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12)
- Matthew Allaire, Design It For Us Advocate
- Tracy Ann Bancroft, Parent Advocate, Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy, & Action
- Shamail Henderson, Victim/Survivor of Online Sex Trafficking
- Vanessa Li, Policy Officer for the American Youth Association and Design It For Us Advocate
- Cheryl McCormick Brown, Mother of Mckenna Brown, Forever 16
- Erin Popolo, Mother of Emily Murillo, Forever 17
- Shama Reed, Mother of Shamail Henderson
- Mary Rodee, Mother of Riley Basford, Forever 15
Blackburn told Breitbart News Daily in 2023 that the legislation would “disable some of these tracking features that push addictive products and behavior. And also it requires the social media platforms to be transparent with their algorithmic black boxes, to open these up.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
