Bringing KOSA to the Senate Floor: Procedural Voting on a Measure for Children’s Online Safety and Privacy Protection

Schumer had tried to pass the bills through unanimous consent — an expedited way to pass legislation if no senator opposes it — but late last year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced he’d oppose such a move, due to concerns about the earlier version’s impact on LGBTQ+ content. Still, the bills have overwhelming support that should ensure their success in the chamber so long as they are given the time to proceed. KOSA, for example, has for months had more than 60 co-sponsors, clearing the threshold needed to pass the chamber.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plans to announce in a speech that he will bring the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children’s and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) to the Senate floor this week for a procedural vote. This is the most significant step yet on the federal level to move forward with a law for children’s online safety legislation.

“This floor vote is a momentous occasion after a two year-long effort,” said ParentsSOS Co-Founder Maurine Molak, whose son David died by suicide at age 16 after experiencing cyberbullying. “It seems our elected leaders have heard us, and they are ready to help. They are ready to save children’s lives.” While I would love for my son to come back, seeing this bill across the finish line is my second greatest wish.

Fight for the Future and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are two advocacy groups who have kept their noses in it, worried that KOSA might restrict access to certain resources for marginalized kids. While other groups, including prominent LGBTQ+ groups like GLAAD and the Trevor Project, had previously raised concerns that KOSA could be weaponized against resources for LGBTQ+ youth, they dropped their opposition after the bill’s sponsors made several changes.

If the bill becomes law, it will likely face challenges in the courts, which now must contend with a new Supreme Court opinion, which made clear that social media curation and content moderation is expressive. Blumenthal is confident that KOSA will survive any challenges. “I think this bill is constitutionally bulletproof,” he said.

But Smithing, who said her group withheld support of KOSA until its most recent changes, pointed the limitation section of the duty of care, which lets minors search for what they want and receive “evidence-informed information.” Specifying the bill is aimed at design features, Smithing said, “helps us feel confident that this bill is not about content,” she said.

Social media stewardship of kids: A plea for action on the House version of KOSA without a separate privacy bill and an energy and commerce committee hearing

Smithing said she’s feeling optimistic. There has been a feeling of delusional optimism within me over the last couple of months. Like if I keep pushing forward, something good will happen,” Smithing said. “And today feels like a day where a little bit of that optimism was realized and a little bit of that delusion was set to the side.”

Tracy Ann said that it wasn’t too late to action, because she believes social media is a factor in her son suffering from an eating disorder. We need this legislation to be passed quickly.

Ava Smithing, advocacy and operations director at the Young People’s Alliance, who’s shared her story with lawmakers about how social media algorithms steered her toward eating disorder content, said it’s “a very exhausting process having to retell really deeply personal stories again, and again, and again.” But with Schumer’s announcement, “today feels rewarding, and like those conversations and those long days aren’t going to be unanswered.”

While there were possible hurdles ahead, the advocates at the press conference were focused on finishing the job in both the Senate and House.

The Speaker of the House said in a statement he is looking forward to reviewing the details of the legislation that comes out of the Senate. Parents should be able to protect their kids from online dangers. I want to find consensus in the House.

They had spoken with members of the House and visited with House leadership. She added that, “we look forward to them moving it forward very soon.”

If that happens the House would need to take it up. Republican leadership recently scuttled an Energy and Commerce Committee hearing where the House version of KOSA was set to be discussed, due to concerns with a separate privacy bill. The ranking member of that committee has concerns about KOSA. House leadership would want to get a vote on the floor before the committee passes it, since KOSA would need time to get there.

The plea underscores the time crunch the bill faces to reach the president’s desk before the August recess. It would be good for the sponsors if they could have it squared away before summer vacation, but it is also difficult to pass meaningful legislation after August in an election year.

At a press conference Tuesday, advocates and bill sponsors urged other senators to quickly vote to pass the bill, without other amendments that could stall its progress once again. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a lead sponsor of the bill along with Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), said he hoped the floor vote would be “quick and clean” and “without amendments.”