DC bureaucrats may soon be able to decide what your kid sees online

A poison pill added to what was once common-sense legislation is, once again, making a well-intentioned bill radioactive. Bipartisan agreement about the need to keep kids safe online led to the introduction of the Kids Online Safety Act, which originally empowered parents to approve apps used by their children.

The latest revisions, made to appease the progressive left, predictably substitute the judgement of federal bureaucrats for that of parents and their local elected officials. What was once a proposal to protect kids from abuse online will now open the door for the Federal Trade Commission and the government to impose the political and cultural values of unelected bureaucrats on children.

Lina Kahn and the FTC’s unelected federal officials have no business parenting our children.

In its current form, the bill does not deserve support from conservatives in Congress. Better options are available as states take more innovative approaches to the problem. This version of KOSA is not the answer.

Originally introduced in 2022, KOSA appropriately gave state attorneys general the authority to enforce provisions about what content social media companies are responsible for blocking for children. Instead, the left demanded a one-size-fits-all approach in which their appointed political allies at the federal level are authorized to override parents.

The outcry against the original bill from far-left and LGBTQ activist groups was predictably hyperbolic. These groups demanded and stirred opposition while branding the original draft dangerous. Though they nominally agree that children should not be exposed to inappropriate content online, they wanted kids of all ages to be able to access information about their sexuality.

Consequently, blatant concessions to these LGBTQ groups take enforcement power away from state attorneys general. Now, the Federal Trade Commission would enforce KOSA’s duty of care provisions.

Biden-appointed FTC Chairman Lina Khan is already under fire for inappropriately managing the commission to promote her personal left-wing ideologies — an allegation documented in a recent House Judiciary Committee report. Kahn and the FTC’s unelected federal officials have no business parenting our children.

The new version of KOSA emboldens government overreach. Fashioned by Democrats, it completely surrenders to the pressures of these progressive groups, putting politics ahead of the safety of our children.

State attorneys general already manage consumer protection for their states. Why would we shift this work to unelected bureaucrats in Washington? Decisions around what our children see online should be enforced by state officials who are elected and held accountable by the voters.

One common-sense proposal leaders in my home state recently called on Congress to adopt would require parents to approve their children’s app downloads at the app store before they can even start using an app. This would empower parents and ensure they have oversight over all apps — from well-known platforms such as YouTube and Instagram to more dubious platforms like Whisper, an anonymous social media platform, or Stranger Talks, which is an app literally built for kids to talk with strangers.

Giving parents a simple, streamlined solution to approve the apps their teens download within the app store is the best approach lawmakers can take to keep our children safe online.

Ultimately, parents — not the government — should have the say over their children’s online usage. Congress would be better off writing legislation that puts parents in the driver's seat.

Congress should focus on requiring parental approval of teenage app downloads at the app store, not legislation that enables federal bureaucrats with political agendas to determine what is appropriate for our children. KOSA in its current form is toxic.