It looks like all those years of debating on whether or not social media impacts the mental health of minors or not is finally giving rise to a change.
The Senate just rolled out two giant online safety bills. The new bills are called the Kids Online Safety Act and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. These both received the majority of votes recently.
The laws will now move on to the next stage which is the House but it’s still not clear what measures would be taken to have the right kind of support for it to get passed through upcoming hurdles. However, once it’s passed into law, these would be the most significant types of legislation related to tech firms in years.
The first law KOSA would need all social media giants such as Meta to provide greater control for disabling algorithms and other features that might be an addiction for minors that aren’t 16.
Meanwhile, it would enforce stricter laws for the types of content on display including banning those linked to self-harm, eating disorder, assault/violence, abuse, and exploitation of any kind. Furthermore, more parental control features like supervision would be up for grabs.
There is one controversial provision in this new law that’s dubbed duty of care. So this means all social media apps must stop certain effects linked to harm in their offerings like those causing addiction or promotion of danger on the algorithm. And for its enforcement, the FTC has been given the charge.
The law was first spoken about in 2022 and that’s when we saw it face a pushback from many groups including those advocating for digital rights. They expressed concerns about how these apps would enable spying on teenagers.
Meanwhile, another revised variant of the law was meant to address some serious concerns that were generated in 2023 but even then, it faced opposition from others.
The Senate says this is designed to better motivate social media firms to take part in censorship of protected speech. Simultaneously, it would provide incentives for getting rid of browsing done through anonymous means on a wide range of topics found online.
Meanwhile, the COPPA law seems to be less controversial and does not cause too many issues with those advocating for privacy. Many see this new law as an expansion that rolled out in 1998 for children and teenagers’ privacy online. So now, we’re seeing revisions for the 30-year-old law that better display today’s landscape.
When it does get passed, this law would prevent firms from taking part in targeted advertising to kids and also restrict data collection for those falling in the 13 to 16-year age bracket who fail to provide consent.
There will also be an eraser button feature where minors’ personal data is deleted from apps when it’s technologically feasible to do so.
This is clearly a major win for society and those advocating for greater protection of minors online. We’ve seen plenty of hearings rolled out on this front and the fact that it’s finally making its way to the House is a serious accomplishment after approval by the Senate.
Let’s not forget how many leaders of these tech giants have themselves been a part of hearings that accused them of having blood on their hands for not taking the right measures to protect children online.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Google And Facebook Respond To Allegations Of Censoring Content Related To Donald Trump
The Senate just rolled out two giant online safety bills. The new bills are called the Kids Online Safety Act and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. These both received the majority of votes recently.
The laws will now move on to the next stage which is the House but it’s still not clear what measures would be taken to have the right kind of support for it to get passed through upcoming hurdles. However, once it’s passed into law, these would be the most significant types of legislation related to tech firms in years.
The first law KOSA would need all social media giants such as Meta to provide greater control for disabling algorithms and other features that might be an addiction for minors that aren’t 16.
Meanwhile, it would enforce stricter laws for the types of content on display including banning those linked to self-harm, eating disorder, assault/violence, abuse, and exploitation of any kind. Furthermore, more parental control features like supervision would be up for grabs.
There is one controversial provision in this new law that’s dubbed duty of care. So this means all social media apps must stop certain effects linked to harm in their offerings like those causing addiction or promotion of danger on the algorithm. And for its enforcement, the FTC has been given the charge.
The law was first spoken about in 2022 and that’s when we saw it face a pushback from many groups including those advocating for digital rights. They expressed concerns about how these apps would enable spying on teenagers.
Meanwhile, another revised variant of the law was meant to address some serious concerns that were generated in 2023 but even then, it faced opposition from others.
The Senate says this is designed to better motivate social media firms to take part in censorship of protected speech. Simultaneously, it would provide incentives for getting rid of browsing done through anonymous means on a wide range of topics found online.
Meanwhile, the COPPA law seems to be less controversial and does not cause too many issues with those advocating for privacy. Many see this new law as an expansion that rolled out in 1998 for children and teenagers’ privacy online. So now, we’re seeing revisions for the 30-year-old law that better display today’s landscape.
When it does get passed, this law would prevent firms from taking part in targeted advertising to kids and also restrict data collection for those falling in the 13 to 16-year age bracket who fail to provide consent.
There will also be an eraser button feature where minors’ personal data is deleted from apps when it’s technologically feasible to do so.
This is clearly a major win for society and those advocating for greater protection of minors online. We’ve seen plenty of hearings rolled out on this front and the fact that it’s finally making its way to the House is a serious accomplishment after approval by the Senate.
Let’s not forget how many leaders of these tech giants have themselves been a part of hearings that accused them of having blood on their hands for not taking the right measures to protect children online.
Read next: Google And Facebook Respond To Allegations Of Censoring Content Related To Donald Trump
