Catholic Law's Professor Mary Graw Leary co-authored an op-ed in Newsweek highlighting a significant bipartisan effort this summer to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). This legislation mandates that internet companies prioritize children's safety in their platform designs, addressing the harmful features that exploit children's developing brains. The bill focuses on design rather than content, reflecting a common-sense approach to protect America's children during a divisive political climate.
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Newsweek
Date: Sep 23, 2024
Republicans and Democrats Just Came Together To Protect America's Kids | Opinion
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Something extraordinary happened this summer. During one of the most divisive periods in modern U.S. history, Senate Republicans and Democrats came together almost unanimously to advance legislation that protects America's children. This bill, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), requires internet companies to keep children's safety in mind when designing the online platforms they use—something required of every other industry.
This new bill focuses specifically on the platforms' design—not their content. Since senators likely do not agree about what content should be online, the bill instead provides a much-needed, common-sense response to new evidence that social media companies knowingly designed their products with features that exploit the still-developing brains of children and cause them harm.
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