President Trump’s opening days in office have demonstrated his relentless commitment to the legislative agenda he promised Americans and the Republican priorities voters hoped to see restored. With the party’s newfound control of not only the White House, but both the Senate and House of Representatives, the Republican Party has a unique opportunity to focus on the pressing issues Americans care deeply about, such as tax reform, immigration and reining in big government’s wasteful spending. As our party’s chair for Travis County, one of the Lone Star State’s largest, I can say with confidence that Americans want Congress to address these priority concerns first and foremost.
It's unfortunate, then, that some select politicians in D.C. are focused on the past rather than supporting a successful first 100 days for the Trump Administration. The sponsors of 2024’s so-called Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which House Republicans rightfully left behind last year, are a prime example of this, having indicated they will reintroduce the bill despite its prior failures. It is situations like these where party unity is critical to achieve President Trump’s policy goals, and Republicans cannot afford to take their eye off the ball for flawed bills like KOSA.
The purpose of kids’ safety legislation is commendable – no one wants our youngest generations exposed to dangerous online content. However, past legislative attempts made at achieving this goal, like KOSA, have only imposed an overly broad duty of care on U.S. tech companies and created unintended consequences that threaten Americans’ core constitutional rights – all while failing to successfully protect children online. Policymakers recognized this and wisely declined to advance KOSA last year. This year, I urge Texas’ representatives in both chambers of Congress to place their focus elsewhere.
KOSA and other past proposals aimed at addressing kids’ online safety have also threatened the freedoms promised to Americans in the First Amendment and would have discouraged the use of the internet as a space for free expression. These rights explicitly forbid the government from making speech determinations for us – including the way we share opinions. Unclear, bureaucratic definitions of what constitutes “harmful” content would leave online platforms in a difficult position, likely compelling them to broadly restrict access to wide swaths of content, impacting not only children but all users of the internet.
The First Amendment would not be the only thing at risk, either – proposals like KOSA would also undermine parental rights. What proponents of such legislation don’t recognize, however, is that parents are the only ones fit to guide their children’s use of the internet, not the federal government. Handing such broad authority over online speech and content to the federal government is not only an extreme overreach, but an infringement on parents’ rights to choose what is appropriate for their children and to decide how their children use the internet in today’s ever-evolving digital society.
President Trump has made clear that the U.S. needs to win in its global competition with China. They are our fiercest rival in the technology sector, but we have the upper hand because of the great American minds we have innovating and leading the way. However, if flawed kids’ online safety legislation like KOSA were to be passed, it would significantly harm U.S. tech companies as they battle with Chinese competitors who are not under the same burdensome regulations, This is a scenario that all lawmakers, Republican or Democrat, should agree we must avoid at all costs.
The Republican Party can use its whole-of-government control to turn campaign promises into meaningful action. However, misguided legislative proposals stand in the way, threatening to divert policymakers’ attention from the issues that matter most. Congress should remain focused on policies that spur economic growth, secure the nation’s borders, limit government overreach, and drive other key conservative values forward. Wasting time on ineffective and previously rejected bills like KOSA would only undermine these priorities. As the 2025 legislative agenda comes into focus, I urge Texas’ congressional delegation to reject KOSA or any similar legislation and zero in on the priorities most important to the Americans who voted for them.
Matt Mackowiak is Chairman of the Travis County Republican Party in Texas.
