SPOKANE, Wash. — The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday night, and local leaders held a press conference today in support of the bill passing as a standalone without being tied to any other legislation.
KOSA would increase protections for kids when they are online, including placing restrictions on the algorithms, or the framework companies use to determine what content is shown to users.
81% of youth reported spending more time online than they had planned, and 61% failed when trying to stop or reduce their use of social media, The American Psychological Association said.
Supporters from different groups were present at Wednesday’s press conference, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the NAACP, and Communities in Schools. Taj Jensen, a parent advocate, was also present to explain the potential dangers of unrestricted access to social media for kids.
“When I get on TikTok or I get on Snapchat or I get on Instagram, I look at reels and I look at feeds, the way the algorithm feeds and works, it pushes things into your feed and there’s no protection in terms of your age gender, on what gets pushed into your feed,” Jensen said.
The U.S. The House Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce will meet on Wednesday, April 17, to discuss this bill.
