A fresh legislative push to carry tech giants accountable for child safety is gaining momentum on Capitol Hill – as public outrage grows over online sex predators and AI-generated “deepfake” nudes whose victims have included Taylor Swift.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is amongst those calling for a complete repeal of Section 230 – a longstanding, controversial law that shields social-media platforms from being sued for content that their users post. But industry insiders say one other aggressive proposal, the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, is one of the best bet to truly turn out to be law.
The bipartisan bill would impose a legal “duty of care” on tech platforms to guard minors from dangers including harassment, bullying, anxiety and sex abuse – or face enforcement motion by the Federal Trade Commission. KOSA is a virtual cinch for Senate approval, with a whopping 62 senators — including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) co-sponsoring the bill as of mid-February.
In a surprise twist, smaller social media platforms X and Snap have broken ranks to support KOSA. Microsoft, which doesn’t operate a social media platform but is facing a looming regulatory crackdown on artificial intelligence, can also be in favor of the bill.
“It’s an indication that the Kids Online Safety Act is moving,” one tech policy insider who requested anonymity told The Post. “It’s higher to be on the side of youngsters than being seen against them in a battle they probably lost already.”
On the opposite side, Fight For The Future — a digital rights advocacy nonprofit — is among the many critics who’ve claimed that KOSA could possibly be weaponized by state attorneys general to suppress viewpoints they oppose and would essentially require the mass surveillance of online activity for underage users.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sought to deal with those concerns by releasing an updated version of KOSA this month that established the FTC, not states, as the important thing enforcement mechanism – though some detractors remain dissatisfied.
When reached for comment, TikTok said it’s “reviewing” the new edition of KOSA released last week. TikTok CEO Shou Chew has said the corporate would have the option to support the old version of the bill “with some changes.”
“TikTok strictly prohibits all types of [child sexual abuse material] and proactively prevents and reports this material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a press release. “We proceed to make deliberate design selections that help ensure our app is inhospitable for anyone in search of to harm teens.”
Representatives for Meta, Snap and X didn’t return requests for comment.
Lawmakers renewed calls to finish Section 230 or otherwise remove tech liability shields during a high-profile Senate hearing in late January, which was attended by the parents of youngsters who committed suicide resulting from “financial sextortion” schemes and other horrific online abuse.
Two other bipartisan bills discussed on the hearing – the Earn It Act and the Stop CSAM Act – would revoke Section 230 protections and permit victims to sue tech corporations over child sexual abuse material posted on their platforms. Those bills have less broad support than KOSA.
Nonetheless, Sen. Lindsey Graham – who co-authored the Earn It Act and told Zuckerberg on the hearing that he has “blood on [his] hands” – will introduce a separate bill to repeal Section 230 entirely in the “coming weeks,” he told The Post. The bill shall be just like one he introduced in 2021, which never received a vote.
“There is no such thing as a regulatory body coping with these corporations who’re the largest, most profitable corporations in the history of the world,” Graham said in a press release. “They will’t be sued due to Section 230. Of all of the people we could give blanket liability protection too, this might be the last group I might pick.”
Sen. Blackburn, a lead sponsor for KOSA, said Section 230 reform to “protect diverse voices from big tech censorship, in addition to stopping online child exploitation” was “long overdue.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), one other longtime critic of the clause who pressed Zuckerberg to clarify why Meta hasn’t compensated victims of online abuse, said “it’s past time for people to have their day in court.”
“Nobody must have their videos, their images, taken and altered without their say,” said Hawley. “Victims of exploitation should have the option to sue the tech corporations that allow this to occur, and receive compensation. Enough is enough.”
Experts have pointed to tech liability shields as a key obstacle when people victimized by nonconsensual, sexually explicit AI deepfake images, equivalent to Taylor Swift, seek legal recourse when the graphic nudes spread like wildfire on social media platforms.
There are multiple legislative proposals to cope with AI deepfakes – including the bipartisan DEFIANCE Act, which might create a “federal civil treatment” for victims, and the AI Labeling Act, introduced by US Rep. Thomas Kean (R-NJ) to make sure deepfakes are easily identifiable..
Throughout the January hearing, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-In poor health.) said Section 230 had allowed “big tech to grow into probably the most profitable industry in the history of capitalism without fear of liability for unsafe practices.” Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse asked tech executives to submit in writing what exemptions to Section 230 that might be “willing to simply accept.”
While critics widely agree that the coverage provided by Section 230 itself is much too broad and woefully outdated, tech giants like Meta and X have argued for years that a full repeal of the measure would make all of it but unattainable for them to do business.
Jason Citron, CEO of the social media app Discord, agreed that Section 230 “must be updated” and called it a “very old law.”
“We look ahead to continued constructive engagement with policymakers to think about how we are able to make Section 230 simpler for today’s web ecosystem, while preserving the weather which have enabled so many diverse online communities to launch and thrive,” a Discord spokesperson said in a press release to The Post.
One Beltway political adviser said those that need to repeal Section 230 entirely face an uphill battle, given the present legislative quagmire in Congress. Most of the free-speech concerns which have stymied attempts at reform for years still haven’t modified.
“I believe it’s going to be tough for lawmakers who can barely agree on a CR to fund the federal government to work out easy methods to properly thread the needle on regulating Big Tech corporations – with a slim majority for Dems in the Senate and Republicans in the House in an election 12 months,” the political adviser said.