Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., clarified his "no" vote on the Kids Online Child Safety Act, arguing Friday the bill is a slippery slope to more government censorship, the New York Post reported.
On Tuesday, the Senate passed KOSA by a 91-3 margin. The bill attempts to protect children from the pernicious effects of the internet and sets forth a "duty of care" for social media platforms. The other no votes were Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., each of whom expressed similar concerns of government censorship.
"I have a great deal of sympathy for the issue," Paul told the outlet in an exclusive interview. "But I'm afraid it will lead to censorship."
Paul, a staunch civil libertarian, cautioned that although the bill has noble intentions, it is written in such a way as to allow the government to censor speech that it decides will cause anxiety in America's youth, the Post reported.
"The whole idea that we're going to set up a committee and we're going to give a vague definition of anxiety — and then say anything that causes anxiety we're going to give a group the power to regulate — is bizarre," he said.
He referenced a Harvard study that found 65% of Americans aged 15 to 30 have daily anxiety about climate change and floated that, in theory, KOSA could be used to censor climate change content the government finds objectionable, the Post reported.
"I would be one of the first people kicked off the internet because I'm sure that I say things that cause people anxiety," Paul said. "I just think there's a real danger in letting government regulate this or take things down."
Paul said that many of his colleagues don't share his concern.
"We have people on the right and people on the left who misunderstand the First Amendment," Paul said adding that although some senators might have had reservations about the bill, they voted for it anyway.
"They're embarrassed to change their vote," he said. "They know that they'll be pilloried because the title sounds good. They read the title, Kids Online Safety Act, and thought, How am I gonna vote against that?"