The House Committee on Energy & Commerce has advanced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) for consideration by the full House of Representatives. The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) expressed concerns about these bills, despite sharing lawmakers' goal of protecting young internet users.
According to CCIA, KOSA and COPPA 2.0 would lead to a less safe internet. The association emphasizes that legislative proposals must provide clear guidelines with reasonable duties to protect children without overbearing and ambiguous standards that could be misapplied nationwide. CCIA believes that KOSA and COPPA 2.0 do not meet these criteria.
With the Senate passing a combined version of KOSA and COPPA 2.0 this summer, despite broad opposition from industry, academics, and civil rights groups, CCIA stresses the need for stakeholder input before further movement of these bills.
CCIA President & CEO Matt Schruers stated: “We have long advocated for legislative proposals that protect younger users online and are disappointed that KOSA and COPPA 2.0 risk causing more harm than good.”
Schruers added: “KOSA will lead to unnecessary data collection and removal of legitimate expression, including expression by at-risk communities in an effort to guarantee compliance. Legislative proposals should promote online safety without resulting in over-removal of legitimate free expression of marginalized communities.”
He continued: “We welcome many of the provisions included in COPPA 2.0. That is why we are disappointed that the same unworkable knowledge standard which encumbers KOSA was included in COPPA 2.0. By applying an ambiguous ‘reasonable’ standard which triggers substantial liabilities on most popular companies, COPPA 2.0 will now greatly expand liability for features that are not aimed at children, potentially leading to their removal.”
