Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) will force a vote this week on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a measure certain to seriously restrict free speech and privacy online for everyone.
The meat of the bipartisan bill is creating a “duty of care” for a huge swath of digital companies (any “online platform, online video game, messaging application, or video streaming service that connects to the internet and that is used, or is reasonably likely to be used, by a minor”). This means they’re legally required to protect minors from exposure to anything that could contribute to a host of “harms,” including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, suicidal behaviors, being online too much, physical violence, harassment, online bullying, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, promotion of gambling, alcohol, drugs, or tobacco, and “predatory, unfair, or deceptive marketing practices, or other financial harms.”
That’s an enormous array of issues, rooted in an even more enormous array of causes. The only way to “prevent and mitigate” services from contributing to these harms is for companies to either drastically censor every user’s speech or to block minors from using your service, which means checking IDs for everyone.
Isn’t that the parents job i chose not to have children one reason is so i don’t have to deal with shit like this why are childless adults forced to suffer and be inconvenienced because breeders can’t watch their own crotch goblins its not the governments responsibility they have no right to inconvenience childless adults
Another example of government idiots trying to replace parents.
It’s not a question of if internet censorship is coming…but when. The answer could be…very soon.
As with everything else, the mere claim that this is “for the children” will likely be enough to convince the majority of the population to blindly embrace it…in fact, most will demand a new “G-rated” internet as quickly as possible…most, that is, except for the “children” themselves (as this would primarily target teenagers, I suspect), and childless adults (of which there are, in fact, more than a few).
And once this abomination is fully implemented…say goodbye to the last bastion of true “free speech”/”unfiltered information” that ever was…
“Duty of care?” That’s an oxymoron because it will be the exact opposite of care. They always put an attractive bow to conceal the nefarious contents of what’s inside. Graham tried to do the same thing with the failed “earn it” nonsense he was clamoring for.
This is clearly government interference and a violation of our Constitutional rights by making companies extension of their censorship.
“”Virtually every time a bill is named ‘Keep Kids Safe’ or ‘Protect Children’ or similar, it’s the stupidest and slimiest bill you’ve ever read,””…it’s like the speaker of this quote as read some of the material posted here in the forum where that conclusion was reached when typewriters were still in use.
This is just in time for the Nov election of course for political cred to where they can at least say “We tried” if it fails in the end (which I hope it does).
This bill would canx all food consumer related ads since we know childhood obesity stems from online ads.
When is there going to be a bill to protect the electorate from stupid bills such as this brought by stupid politicians? I guess that is only done at the ballot box when their re-election time is present.
Children have no business being on the web. Every parent that refuses or neglects to protect their children from harm online should be charged just like parents who allow their kids to use firearms to cause harm.
You give your 13 year daughter a high speed connection, her own computer, a locking bedroom door and you spend your time taking photos of your @#$%$ salad to post on the Facebook, then don’t be surprised when she does what teen girls do, and some person who wants to commit sexual crimes does what she does, then YOU, the parent should be criminally just as liable as the person who committed the sex crime.
Trust me, child protection from parents would greatly increase if they knew that THEY would be registered if they ignore their kids.
In the process of ensuring all are terrorized into mindless compliance with State Morality Laws, several other things may be noticed. Other kinds of unacceptable behaviors that the State will not be able to ignore? A regrettable, but unfortunately unavoidable reality of constant, universal surveillance. You know what WON’T be noticed?
How virtually no “Internet Crime” PFR uses the Internet to commit new crimes. Of course not seeing PFRs using the Internet to commit new crimes can only mean one thing, WE NEED MORE SURVEILLANCE!
Yes, regrettably, Surveillance may need to be increased until they catch all the “Internet Crime” PFRs using the Internet to commit new crimes? The State
knowsbelieves for a fact that EVERY SINGLE ONE of these PFRs are doing this! This is an Unquestionable STATE TRUTH! So surveillance may have to increase until the State catches EVERY SINGLE ONE?I’ve been thinking about this and everyone’s comments and am very conflicted. First, I agree it’s the parent’s responsibility. My failure is the reason my son has a life-long, terrible consequence as a convicted felon with lifetime registration at a very young age due to my inability to protect him from the internet. Would I have done anything differently if I thought I would be convicted and on the registry? IDK, I look back and really thought I was doing the right things. I realize that makes me clueless, so judge away, you cannot judge me harsher than I judge myself. Should I be on the registry with a conviction now? Maybe yes, I would be happy to switch places with him; watching him at a young age forever impacted by this f@#ing registry is gut wrenching.
As for the proposed bill, I’m not in support of limiting first amendment rights, but it’s complicated, and I don’t know the answer. My kids were not allowed on social media, didn’t use computers for the longest time, read books, played outside, I had them involved in music and sports to be with people IRL etc. etc. At some point in school they kept ramping up the use of the internet and email. Still ok, I was involved and knew what was going on. Then about ten years ago, even my son’s school sports team required a social media account for “team communication”. I was appalled. I remember being the only weirdo who thought this was an imposition on my parental choices and a bad idea. Even his dad pressured me to cave because I was limiting his social experiences and he would not fit in without a smart phone and social media account.
The phone is what did it – on him at all times with easy access, and with social media the ability to send / receive all sorts of inappropriate things that stupid kids think is no big deal. Yes I should have had a monitoring software on it, but I was ignorant. He was busy with sports and got good grades, and I was very involved so that’s how I (thought) was managing his childhood. So as I said before, I am the clueless one you all talk about, but I’m saying I did my very best and am still guilty. Society says how bad this or that is for kids (fill in the blank…we all say our downfall is fast food, no exercise, internet, no more unstructured free-play in nature, etc…) and then that same society – those very same people – push you to conform and your kid is an outcast if he doesn’t eat happy meals, play video games, and have a smart phone. I never understood homeschooling years ago, but now I see there may be a benefit.
I don’t think this bill will fix it and I am a fan of the first amendment so I’m not agreeing with government stupidity. But there are some horrific things that are easily accessible on the internet (including live streaming of violent crimes), and i wish that were not the case, but no one seems to know how to stop that or stop internet posting of csam. I don’t know the answer, but I do know there is no easy fix to complicated problems.