Thursday, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a markup on a series of bills related to digital technology regulation, including legislation intended to address child online safety—the Kids Online Safety Act, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, and the App Store Accountability Act.
Yaël Ossowski, deputy director at the Consumer Choice Center (CCC), an independent consumer advocacy group, cautioned Congress against these mandates that will put users at risk while usurping parental control.
“Government mandates and risky protocols are the wrong solutions when parents already have the technology and the native tools on their devices to keep their kids safe online,” said Ossowski. “Forcing age-gates on either devices or apps would drastically degrade the online experience of millions of Americans while doing nothing to protect kids. As it stands, impacted companies would need to collect and store the personally identifiable information of all users to determine who is and is not a minor.
Ossowski continued: “Kids are target number one for identity theft, costing American families over $1 billion annually, not to mention it ruins credit scores for life. Politicians and activist groups want to appear as if they’re doing something tangible, but the harsh reality is this is a recipe for incentivizing hackers and data breaches that put consumers of all ages in a bad position.”
The Consumer Choice Center believes that online safety for minors can be achieved with existing technology under parental supervision, and that user education on online safety tools empowers parents to tailor their child’s online experience without jeopardizing the privacy of others. A mix of stringent penalties for cybercrimes plus robust consumer education at the federal and state levels would benefit not just young people, but all Internet users.
James Czerniawski, Head of Emerging Technology Policy for CCC, added:
“The privacy and security concerns around age verification are real, but it is also impossible to ignore the censorious effects of these proposals. They undermine the right to anonymous speech, a core principle dating back to the American Revolution when Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was published — 250 years ago. If the government knows who the speaker of content online is, it opens individuals to government persecution, something this administration and Congress are keenly aware of, as they have been on the receiving end of the weaponization of the government. Protecting children is a noble goal, but pretending these legislative proposals are the only solution is a farce.”
Ossowski concluded, “Bottom line: Let innovators lead the way on safer user experiences. The status quo versus KOSA/COPPA is a false choice. Gatekeeping an entire generation from digital technology so intertwined with daily life, education, and work, is not responsible governance.”
