Empowering Parents
Kids are smart. No amount of government regulation will completely prevent them from accessing certain content online. However, the legislation currently being considered by Congress would undermine parents’ ability to decide what their kids can and cannot access online. These bills could even prevent parents, educators, and kids from using key apps they often depend on for schoolwork and extracurriculars. Instead, we should empower parents to teach kids how to protect themselves, equip young people with tools to navigate the internet safely, and allow families to keep using the tools they need to manage their busy day to day lives.
Serious, Negative Consequences for Families Keeping Kids Safe and Connected
Taken together, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), STOP CSAM Act, Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (EARN IT Act), and Protecting Kids on Social Media Act would take power away from families, jeopardize critical access to online educational tools, and undermine parents’ ability to decide how their kids can use the internet.
Parents Would Lose the Power to Decide How Their Kids Can Use the Internet Safely
Critical education technology tools that parents, teachers, and students use for school could be shut down or forced to remove important functions in order to comply with new restrictive laws.
These proposed bills could infringe on parental discretion and prevent them from encouraging their child to connect with family and friends, explore hobbies and interests, or tune in to current events.
Young people could be legally prohibited or severely restricted from using common online tools and services they rely on to stay connected with the world, like news outlets, encyclopedias, and community platforms.
More than 130 organizations - including the American Library Association and Freedom to Learn Advocates - officially oppose some or all of the proposed bills that make it harder for families to keep kids safe and connected.
Educational Resources That Could Be Negatively Affected
Legacy online news media
Online libraries and encyclopedias
Classroom and extracurricular management software
Educators and Parents Know Safe Internet Access is Critical for Young People
“It’s up to parents, not the government, to decide how and if their kids engage with social media and the world of ideas. If the government had unchecked power to control what information children could access, government officials would usurp parental imperatives and inevitably abuse that power to advance ideological agendas.” - Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
“When it comes to determining the best way to help kids and teens use the internet, parents and guardians should be making those decisions, not the government.” - Carl Szabo, NetChoice vice president and general counsel