Senator Wyden explains vote against Kids Online Safety Act, which passed Senate 91-3

 WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement late last week ay on the Kids Online Safety Act, announcing he would oppose final passage of the legislation, which passed the Senate on Tuesday by a 91-3 vote: 

“After months of negotiations, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has been improved, thanks to hard work by Commerce Chair Cantwell and Leader Schumer. The changes that I, LGBTQ+ advocates, parents, student activists, civil rights groups and others have fought for over the last two years have made it less likely that the bill can be used as a tool for MAGA extremists to wage war on legal and essential information to teens.  

“I thank all of the advocates, parents, young people and concerned citizens that have raised their views about KOSA with me, both in support of the bill and with concern about its implications. 

“I strongly support elements of this bill, especially Senator Markey’s Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, which will safeguard the personal information of young people online. Provisions regulating addictive design elements used by platforms to keep young people hooked are valuable safeguards that will make tech products safer. 

“Unfortunately, KOSA’s improvements, while constructive, remain insufficient. I fear this bill could be used to sue services that offer privacy-enhancing technologies like encryption or anonymity features that are essential to young people’s ability to communicate securely and privately without being spied on by predators online. I also take seriously concerns voiced by the American Civil Liberties Union, Fight for the Future, and LGBTQ+ teens and advocates that a future MAGA administration could still use this bill to pressure companies to censor gay, trans and reproductive health information.

“For these reasons, I cannot vote for this legislation.  

“However, if this bill is signed into law by the President, I look forward to working with my colleagues to conduct rigorous oversight of the FTC to ensure that my worst fears about this bill do not come true and that kids benefit from a safer internet.  

“Whatever happens to this bill, I look forward to working with my colleagues on other initiatives, including regulating harmful and manipulative platform designs, to tackle the vital topic of kids' safety online. I also remain convinced that this effort must go hand-in-hand with passing a strong baseline privacy law for all Americans.”