Taxpayer Watchdog Urges Congress to Reject Online Censorship Bill

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Saturday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced an updated version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that would require social media platforms to suppress online content deemed harmful to children. These updates were made with the help of the staff of X. Elon Musk (the head of X) posted his support for the bill the same day.

In response, Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) President David Williams offered the following comment:

“The newest new version of KOSA remains deeply problematic for a very simple reason: the legislation’s fundamental logic (not the details of its drafting) is fundamentally censorial and at odds with the First Amendment. KOSA would require government officials to make subjective determinations about what kinds of online content could trigger negative psychological reactions in children. Social media would then act as a second-hand censor to remove that content. While some of the categories enumerated in the bill’s Duty of Care are objectively horrific, others – such as content that could contribute to ‘anxiety disorders’ – are vague and would be prone to be misdefined or abused.

“KOSA’s protracted saga of revision has given the game away. Its sponsors denied its potential to become a tool of censorship. Nonetheless, to ward off legitimate push back about its blatant violations of the First Amendment, KOSA’s advocates have found it necessary to continuously update their bill. After making amendments, they insist – as Sen. Blackburn did on Saturday – that First Amendment concerns around KOSA should finally be put to bed. But the truth is that no amount of revision, short of removing the core provision of the bill entirely, would remove its fundamental threat to free speech.

“TPA commends Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) for seeing through the smokescreen from KOSA’s advocates. They understand that simply saying a bill poses no threat to free speech will not make it so. TPA believes that the government has a part to play in protecting children both online and off, but the task must be accomplished within the boundaries laid out in the First Amendment. TPA urges Congress to reject opportunistic calls to ram through KOSA during the lame-duck period.” 

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.