KOSA is the end of Anonymity online

Question

This Tweet makes the claim, but there is more information in the thread and some of the sources the original poster used to back up their claim

Answer 1

Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, is a bill introduced by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn in 2022 in efforts to protect minors and aid them in mental health, eating disorders, and addictions. Since its introduction, organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Library Association are urging Congress not to pass the bill for threats it makes to American privacy. 

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, concerns over the bill arose as KOSA relies on “a new legal duty for platforms to prevent certain harms: KOSA outlines a wide collection of content that platforms can be sued for if young people encounter it, including “promotion of self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, and other matters that pose a risk to physical and mental health of a minor,” compel platforms to provide data to researchers, an elaborate age-verification system, likely run by a third-party provider and parental controls, turned on and set to their highest settings, to block or filter a wide array of content.” The bill would also apply to minors 16 and younger, where most sites have set their user limit to 13 and older,  limiting a group already aware of social freedom. 

CNBC reported that the concerns around the bill have urged the lawmakers to make changes. The bill now has the backing of “Common Sense Media, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Eating Disorders Coalition,” although “"The ACLU remains strongly opposed to KOSA because it would ironically expose the very children it seeks to protect to increased harm and increased surveillance.”

While it is hard to note if there will be a absolute lack of anonymity, there will definitely be restrictions on privacy for the American people. 

Read more about opinions here and the actual bill:

https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/kids_online_safety_act_-_one_pager.pdf

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/05/02/updated-kids-online-safety-act-aims-to-fix-unintended-consequences.html

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/03/kids-online-safety-act-heavy-handed-plan-force-platforms-spy-young-people

https://www.libraryfutures.net/post/kosa#:~:text=The%20letter%20explains%20that%20KOSA,information%20to%20verify%20their%20age.

Comments

I enjoy how in-depth into this topic you went. Your information, quotes, and research is all greatly outlined. Best post I've seen on Newsdetective.org

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I really appreciate you explaining what KOSA stands for even before going into the claim. I didn’t know what KOSA was so it was great to get a little background information on it to understand. Using multiple sources and credible ones as well helps create well-rounded fact check. I like how you noted that things are still changing with the bill and that there's no direct way of knowing if there will be absolute lack of anonymity. Good job!

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This is a great fact-check. You clearly defined information for your reader and provided reliable sources for your evidence. I also thought it was a great idea to provide links for the reader to do further research themselves.

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I'm not sure the fact-check completely addressed the claim that KOSA would end anonymity online. How would you rate the claim? False, true, N/A?