The Kids Online Safety Act has been a hot topic of discussion ever since its introduction in 2022. With a new age of technology and social media, lawmakers are pushing to have a tighter grasp on something so easily accessible to children. Conversations of platform accountability and protective measures, particularly on defining the “duty of care” that the act imposes on platforms to protect minors, have now prompted questions of whether this will become reality and how it will be enforced if passed.
The overall goal of the Kids Online Safety Act is to enforce new protections for children 13-17 in online platforms and media sources. This aims to safeguard from sexual harassment, bullying, exploitation and overall harmful content found within the depths of the internet. According to the act’s authors, the bill suggests that social platforms hold a duty of care when giving accounts to underage users.
As the bill is discussed in the U.S. Senate, students and staff of Richland have shared their opinions. “I think it’s pretty interesting and rather exciting” said Richland student King Johnson. He added, “The bill is kind of vague on the duty of care.”
Some critics of this bill say it could result in censorship and infringe on free speech, which Johnson agreed with. “It could lead to some form of censorship especially for marginalized groups.” Lastly, Johnson talked about the security aspects of the bill. “The enforcement could lead to age verification systems and online surveillance,” he said.
While not impacting many of the Richland population, the frequenters of this campus still have many opinions and are making sure they are heard. Kelly Sonnanstine, advisor in the Office of Student Life and Engagement, said, “I think it’s a good start.” and “I think that no matter what gets done or put in place to protect people, somebody is going to find a way around it”. Sonnanstine added, “I have no idea how you would fix it because it is a matter of being honest about stuff and people just lie.”
So, while the bill appears to some to bring helpful ideas and motives behind its creation, there are still concerns amongst others. Many issues could come about if it is passed; possibly even leading to the bill not being enforced correctly. Some say this could have negative impacts while others say it would not have any impacts at all.
Concerns of what will result from this bill and what lies for the safety of social media and its users remains unknown.
