New proposal seeks to prohibit minors' access to social media.
It is designed to "complement" KOSA and COPPA 2.0.
Legislators continue their efforts to restrict minors' use of social media with the advancement of the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA). This bill, which seeks to prohibit children under 13 from creating social media accounts, has recently progressed in the Senate Commerce Committee. Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) are the sponsors of this initiative, arguing that it is a measure to mitigate the "unprecedented mental health crisis" affecting young people.
In addition to limiting minors' access to social media, the bill also aims to prevent the use of recommendation algorithms for users under 17 and requires schools to "limit social media use on their networks." The authorities responsible for enforcing these rules include the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general.
Unlike other proposals that require age verification through identification documents or parental consent, KOSMA suggests that social platforms use existing user data to estimate their age. This method of age verification raises concerns that the estimate may not always be accurate. Kate Ruane, director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, commented that the uncertainty of this approach means that, even if it is a small percentage, it could still affect millions of people who might be misrepresented.
In response to growing concerns about online child safety, Meta has implemented tools to detect "signals" indicating that a user might be misleading about their age. In this context, lawmakers are taking action with the emergence of new bills across the United States, some of which are already in effect. Senator Brian Schatz indicated that KOSMA aims to "complement" other federal laws such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), both of which were passed by the Senate the previous year.
For its part, NetChoice, the trade association backed by companies like Meta, Amazon, Google, and Snap, has expressed its opposition to KOSMA, arguing that the bill "poses serious cybersecurity risks, undermines parental rights and autonomy, and violates the Constitution." This association has taken legal action against similar legislation, successfully blocking its implementation on various occasions.
