Google, Meta and their Big Tech allies have sparked outrage on both sides of the aisle in a desperate fight to derail the Children’s Online Protection Act — and critics say it’s a move to protect their profits at the expense of minors. It is a condemnable attempt.
Critics of KOSA have characterized the legislation as a troubling censorship bill – which would impose a legal “duty of care” to ensure that social-media apps do not expose children to sexual exploitation, drug addiction and risky stunts. Avoid accidents that could cause injury or even death.
In a twist that has upset Kosa supporters on Capitol Hill, Big Tech lawyers are tailoring their message depending on which constituency they are trying to influence, according to sources.
NetChoice, an influential right-of-center tech trade group, claims that KOSA is unconstitutional and will result in “increased government power over families’ decision-making.” elsewhere, Opponents of the bill circulated an unsigned memorandum Kosa has been described as “a major threat to pro-life groups” that could allow Democrats to “shut down the pro-life movement.”
On the other hand, the left-wing Chamber of Progress has called the bill “anti-LGBTQ+” and alleged that the Heritage Foundation, which supports COSA, will use it to “push an extremist ‘Project 2025’ agenda.”
“They’re in everyone’s ears,” said Alix Fraser, director of the Council for Responsible Social Media. “This is a massive and really massive effort by them to undermine trust on the left and the right. “They are really trying their best to divide and conquer.”
Lobbying has intensified amid clear signs that COSA and a companion bill called COPPA 2.0 have broad bipartisan support in Congress. The Senate passed the bills in July by a landslide 91-3. A House panel advanced a child protection bill earlier this month, clearing the way for a possible floor vote.
Still, it is unclear whether the bill will pass the deadlocked House before the end of the year. Congress is in recess until after the 2024 presidential election on November 5, leaving supporters of the bill in the House a short window to craft a final version and pass it.
Both Google And Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta filed more lobbying Disclosures related to KOSA more than any other bill in 2024, according to OpenSecrets records.
“We support the development of age-appropriate standards for teens online and applaud COSA’s effort to create a consistent set of rules for the industry to follow,” Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts said in a statement. “However, we think there’s a better way to help parents monitor their teens’ online experiences: Federal law requires parents to notify teens under the age of 16 whenever they download an app. App stores should be required to seek approval.”
Representatives for Google and NetChoice did not respond to requests for comment.
Meta, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, Snap, Spent $30 million on. According to the bill, Revelations compiled by Issue One,
In the first half of 2024, Meta’s lobbying spending increased 43% to a company record $13.6 million. ByteDance’s outlay jumped 65% to a record $6 million — though the increase coincides with its efforts to block the TikTok divestiture bill.
“Big tech companies and their dominant groups are spreading lies about COSA,” Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who serves as COSA’s co-lead sponsor, said in a statement to The Post. “Their goal is to maximize profits – not to protect our children.”
There are signs that some lawmakers are intimidated by the rhetoric of Big Tech. An anonymous House leadership aide recently told The Hill The bill “could lead to censorship of conservative speech.”
The mysterious unsigned memo used to attack Kosa contained the same points that appeared in a strange memo last June that lawmakers were warned about. US Privacy Rights ActAnother bill that aims to rein in Big Tech.
Some words, such as the claim that the bill “could have a chilling effect on the activities of pro-life groups,” appeared verbatim in both memos.
It is unclear who wrote the memo, although multiple sources alleged that a technology trade group was likely responsible.
According to Cara Frederick, a former Facebook executive and director of the Heritage Foundation’s Tech Policy Center, the tech lobby has leaned on “red-meat, emotional conservative issues” in a misguided effort to scare GOP lawmakers and their constituents into supporting CoSA.
“To me, it’s very clear what they’re trying to do,” Frederick said. “They’re just trying to kill the bills, because they’re changing them when the content and material are fundamentally different.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) initially expressed support for COSA when it passed the Senate, but has not yet said whether he will bring it to the House for a vote.
During the House panel’s markup of COSA, some Democrats criticized the decision to remove mental health impairments such as anxiety and depression from the House bill’s version of the duty of care, arguing that the bill was much more restrictive than the Senate-passed version. Is weak.
The concessions were seen as an effort to address concerns that mental health disorders were too vaguely defined, increasing the risk of unfair enforcement.
On the eve of the House panel hearing on KOSA, Meta announced a series of security updates for Instagram for minors – a The move was immediately condemned by online watchdogs This is a clear attempt to silence lawmakers and avoid meaningful action.
Several other tech-funded groups oppose the bill, including the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Electric Frontier Foundation, and TechFreedom.
Critics have also focused on the FTC’s role in enforcing the duty of care under COSA – arguing that it would effectively empower unelected bureaucrats to police online content.
Supporters of the bill, including Blackburn, emphasize that it is focused on ensuring that product design features like recommendation algorithms and autoplay videos don’t bombard children with harmful content — not moderating specific posts.
The bill makes no changes to Section 230, the statute that protects tech companies from being liable for what third parties post on their platforms. It also includes language that ensures teen users can search for specific content on their own.
If KOSA passes, it would add momentum to other long-delayed bills aimed at reining in Big Tech, such as the potential repeal of Section 230 or broader data privacy laws similar to those imposed in Europe.
“They are fighting tooth and nail because they know once the floodgates of regulation open up, everything will change,” Fraser said.
A source at TikTok said a significant portion of the lobbying expenditures are related to the vesting of stock of in-house policy team employees as part of their regular compensation.
Last January, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the company could support KOSA with some changes.
TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said, “We have not advocated for this legislation and any allegations otherwise are simply false.”
Discord has also refused to take any stance. Meanwhile, Snap and X have broken with the tech industry to support the legislation.
