With Congress wrapping up its final days of the session, the parents’ advocacy group Parents Matter, led by former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, is intensifying its campaign against the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The bill, intended to protect minors on digital platforms, passed the Senate with bipartisan support, but faces concerns in the House.
Parents Matter is calling on Congress to reject the bill, which the group argues would undermine parental rights and place excessive power in the hands of federal regulators.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has voiced skepticism over KOSA, echoing some of the concerns raised by the Parents Matter coalition. In October, he told media outlets, “I love the principle, but the details of that are very problematic.”
According to Johnson, a vocal advocate for parental rights, the bill will produce “unintended consequences.” In his view, this may include overreach by federal entities, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which would be granted authority to determine what is safe and appropriate for children online. The bill’s critics, including Johnson and Parents Matter, worry this shift could weaken parental influence over their children's digital experiences.
KOSA would create a “duty of care” for tech companies, requiring them to take proactive measures to limit minors’ exposure to harmful content, including self-harm material, cyberbullying, and hate speech. The legislation also mandates transparency reports on content moderation and requires online platforms to offer parents tools to manage their children’s activity.
Child welfare advocates argue that KOSA is necessary to address the risks children face in an unregulated digital landscape. They say the bill would provide oversight for platforms that have come under fire for failing to curb harmful content targeted at or accessible to minors.
The push for KOSA follows a history of federal attempts to safeguard children online, dating back to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998. COPPA set the stage for digital protections by requiring websites aimed at children under 13 to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information. While COPPA was a landmark law, critics argue it no longer provides adequate protection in the face of new digital threats that target teens and young children.
Parents Matter and other groups have mobilized against KOSA in recent weeks, releasing a campaign video to outline their objections. They argue that KOSA places too much power in the hands of government, sidelining parents’ rights to make decisions for their children.
The coalition also says government-controlled content moderation under the bill could limit information based on broad criteria of “safety,” leading to reduced access to valuable resources for some communities.
Opponents of bill as it is written align with Speaker Johnson’s concerns that government agencies should not be arbiters to decide what is “scientific” or “safe” for children online.
No action on the bill is currently scheduled in the House.
