Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal are the bill providers, and they call it the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The bill also has guidelines for social platforms to reduce showing harmful content to children. The bill includes three fundamental propositions. First, social platforms should allow users under the age of 16 to protect their data. Addictive features should also be removed, and algorithm-based recommendations should be obsolete. Another part of the bill says that “strongest settings” must be enable by default, and more control and monitoring features must be available to parents. Exposing children to harmful content on social media should also be minimized, including self-harm, eating disorders, sexual exploitation, and alcohol. Moreover, social platforms should annually evaluate their actions to implement the provisions of KOSA.
The Senate new bill establishes new rules and guidelines for social media
This is an absolutely great move by the U.S. Senate. However, forcing social platforms to implement KOSA is a challenge. The bill also requires these platforms to provide “critical datasets” to academic and public interest researchers hoping to study child safety. Protecting children on social media has always been a controversial topic between the Senate and social tech giants. Facebook, now Meta, has been at the forefront of criticisms over protecting children. It has also recently been revealed that the company has lied about advertisements targeting teenagers. The Senate has asked Meta to end algorithmic ranking, opening up its research and modifying the Communications Decency Act’s Section 230 for more accountability. The company officials have even been invited to the hearing meetings and been asked about their measures. The concerns over children’s safety on social media made Meta-owned Instagram introduce a new app dedicated to children. However, the plan was halted due to privacy concerns from critics. Multiple U.S. states also started their investigation into Instagram’s practices. The KOSA bill is just introduced to the Senate, and it should wait for Senators’ approval. Then, it can become a law, and after that, the Senate will have a challenge with social platforms to implement the KOSA guidelines.
