Online safety advocates have shared their views on the recent passage of two important pieces of legislation in the U.S. Senate: the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act. The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act aims to establish a duty of care to protect children while they are using the internet, holding social media firms accountable for their actions. The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, also known as COPPA 2.0, updates and expands upon existing legislation to extend privacy rights to adolescents.
Experts in online safety have expressed support for these new laws, which place additional responsibilities on major tech companies regarding the safety and privacy of minors. Dawn Hawkins, CEO of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, emphasized that these laws are crucial in preventing harm to children who have been victims of sexual exploitation or drug-related incidents facilitated by social media platforms.
Melissa Henson, Vice President of Parents Television and Media Council, highlighted that the Kids Online Safety Act will ensure accountability from tech platforms in protecting children from predators and restricting access to explicit content. She also mentioned that parents will have more peace of mind with safeguards and tools provided by tech platforms.
The Kids Online Safety Act requires web platforms to protect young users from harmful content that could impact their mental or physical health. It also grants children control over their data and allows them to opt out of algorithmic recommendations. Additionally, it gives parents more control over their children’s data with mechanisms for reporting hazardous behavior.
The legislation also mandates independent examinations into how social media affects young viewers’ mental health. These audits aim to shed light on how digital material and interactions impact adolescents.
The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act prohibits internet providers from collecting data without consent from individuals under 17 years old. It extends this prohibition beyond platforms with knowledge of a user’s age by including any platform “reasonably likely” used by minors.
However, there are concerns raised by digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) regarding potential censorship resulting from these acts leading platforms to restrict protected speech due to legal liabilities or anxiety-inducing content targeting sensitive topics such as dangerous sports or political commentary.
EFF suggests alternative approaches such as comprehensive federal privacy laws instead of relying solely on these acts for protecting young users without compromising free speech or privacy rights.
President Joe Biden has expressed his support for this legislation while it awaits consideration in the House of Representatives after its recess until September.
