Marsha Blackburn's KOSA bill is government overreach disguised as protecting kids
To the general public, headlines about the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) might appear to be a legitimate step towards keeping kids safe and providing parents with control measures regarding their children’s online access. In reality though, it’s nothing more than a Trojan horse for a big government power grab.
Since Democrats in the Senate took cues from progressive activists, the House is considering a bill that violates our rights, gives unelected bureaucrats control of the internet, and fails to protect kids online. Three strikes and you’re out.
Thankfully, this month, Speaker Mike Johnson agreed that the Senate version of KOSA, cosponsored by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, is “very problematic.” Speaker Johnson’s opposition likely signals the death of KOSA, at least for this legislative session.
However, the larger issue is parents don’t need the government to parent their kids for them. The current version of KOSA would allow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and its controversial, progressive activist Chair Lina Khan, to determine exactly what content American kids can and cannot interact with online.
If KOSA becomes law, depending on which administration is in office, rank and file political content will be labeled “harmful” and blocked as “disinformation.” Republican administrations would likely work to block content that champions LGBTQ rights, whereas Democratic administrations would censor Second Amendment content in the same vein. That is not hyperbole. The legislation leaves it up to the bureaucrats at the FTC to determine what information is “harmful” for kids and thus exempt from First Amendment protections.
Read Hannah’s entire column at The Tennessean
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