Heritage Action for America, the advocacy arm of the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, urged the House Energy and Commerce Committee to advance the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require online platforms to verify the ages of its users, a decision which would be left to the secretary of commerce to implement. 

Heritage Action President Kevin Roberts argued in a letter to Energy Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., that KOSA “represents our best opportunity to implement meaningful protections for children online this Congress.”

However, The Verge, an offshoot of Vox, argued that the bill, which largely focuses on shielding minors from vague or encompassing harms, could impact adults’ First Amendment.

The website goes on to cite First Amendment lawyer Ari Cohn, who told members of Congress last year supporting the bill, that “KOSA is a fundamentally flawed approach that at best achieves little protection for minors, and at worst threatens to actively undermine their best interests — while simultaneously intruding on the fundamental civil liberties of all Americans.”

Shortly after Cohn’s letter, the Senate passed the legislation in July of 2023 in a 91-3 vote. According to The Hill, the bill was included as part of a package containing the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act, which is reported to bolster data privacy protections for minors.

In addition to pressure from Heritage Action, a group of parents led by the advocacy group ParentsTogether, delivered a petition in support of KOSA to House leadership. More than 100,000 parents signed the petition, and boxes containing messages from parents about online safety were delivered, urging Congress to mark up the bill before Congress goes back on break.

“Advancing this bill through a committee markup would demonstrate a strong commitment to the conservative principles of protecting children and empowering parents,” Roberts added.

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