OPINION
European Censorship Is Being Imported to the U.S. Cloaked as Protecting Children
If Europe is any example for consumers in the United States, expect more of a push to use the pre-text of protecting children to justify censorship.
The campaign to pass the misnamed Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) mirrors censorship efforts in the UK and EU dressed up as helping kids.
Don’t be fooled.
The effort to empower the federal government to moderate content is nothing more than a power grab for bureaucrats to become the gatekeepers of what speech is OK and what's not.
Parents, not government, should be the gatekeepers for what children view online.
Conservatives do not support a nanny state view of governance that includes unelected bureaucrats making decisions on how social media companies operate.
The KOSA legislation has been rewritten a few times but, in a nutshell, imposes a "duty of care" which would force content-based changes on many online services.
The bill purports to protect kids from substance abuse, eating disorders and suicidal behaviors, yet will impose an age requirement on platforms that will make politicians feel good, yet not solve the problem.
According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the most recent draft “remains, at its core, an unconstitutional censorship bill that threatens the online speech and privacy rights of all internet users."
My former boss, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., argues that KOSA, will "stifle free speech" and "deprive Americans of the benefits of our technological advancements."
The Bill of Rights is in danger if we import European views on free speech to the U.S.
Increasingly, U.S. tech policy looks like it's being dictated by Europeans and the British. That's not inherently a bad thing — except that the UK and Europe are not exactly beacons of free speech.
If members of Congress are concerned about "censorship" on platforms, passing UK or European-style policy into law is not a good thing given that free speech is a fundamental value here in a way it is not across the Atlantic.
Two recent examples overseas are instructive on how empowering government to monitor speech can become dangerous.
The Daily Mail reported on Nov. 13, 2024:
"Allison Pearson, 64, claimed two Essex Police officers turned up at her door at 9:40am on Remembrance Sunday to inform her she was being investigated over a post on X from a year ago.
"The award-winning writer said she was still in her dressing gown when one officer at the door said 'I was accused of a non-crime hate incident. It was to do with something I had posted on X a year ago'."
Pearson reportedly said that officers did not explain the offense nor the person who reported her. The AP reported on Aug. 29, 2024: "French authorities handed preliminary charges to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation."
Elon Musk of X is lucky he does not reside in France or the UK or he might be jailed.
Our shores have been breached by a British baroness, Beeban Kidron, Member of the House of Lords, who helped California to pass an "online safety" law importing a UK style censorship approach to moderating content online.
It has been reported that Kidron has worked with Members of Congress on KOSA.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) is another group intent on censorship and Europeanizing American tech laws. The CCDH’s "Star Framework" seems to be a basis for KOSA.
The Aspen Institute, an organization with Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, serving on the Commission for Information Disorder, has been supportive of government content moderation.
We can see the top-down view of Europeans influencing the thought of American politicians and it's dangerous for free speech.
I agree with Elon Musk that protecting kids should always be priority number one, but that responsibility resides with parents, not government. X (formerly known as Twitter) probably would not be KOSA compliant even though X has helped to water down the bill.
Members of Congress who support this effort may have good intentions and want to virtue signal that they are protecting America’s youth, yet any legislation that forces changes on social media companies raises First Amendment issues that make the legislation unconstitutional.
KOSA is a dangerous piece of legislation that is, no doubt, a first step toward even more government control of social media companies.
Congress should toss aside this unconstitutional legislation and work towards educating parents that they need to be the content moderators of their children — not government bureaucrats.
(Editor's Note: The preceding opinions are those of the author of this column.)
Brian Darling is former counsel for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
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