Not everyone is happy that the US Senate has passed two bills designed to protect children as they spend time online—and that’s especially true for those who are concerned for the safety of LGBTQ+ youth.  

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) received overwhelming bipartisan support yesterday, passing in a vote of 91-3. 

But while the bills may seem well-intentioned, people like Lindz Amer—creator and host of the educational LGBTQ+ preschool series Queer Kid Stuff—are concerned about the effect the measures will have if passed into law. 

“On the one hand, policy concerning children’s online safety is extremely behind the times, whether we’re talking about online predators, manipulative advertising tactics or young people’s mental health,” says Amer (who uses they/them pronouns). “That needs to be remedied and is, I’m assuming, why these bills have so much support.” 

But they add: “On the other hand, vague language that leaves content censorship up to interpretation by government agencies like the FTC leaves creators like me in a tough spot, where those in power see LGBTQ-affirming content for young people as dangerous—which is simply untrue.” 

Among its many changes, COPPA 2.0 bans targeted advertising to kids under the age of 17 and restricts the info companies can collect from kids, while KOSA will require companies to give kids more options for protecting their info and opting out of algorithmic recommendations. If they become law, the bills are expected to have a significant effect on how tech companies reach and create products for kids. As part of KOSA, the Federal Trade Commission plans to create a new Youth Marketing and Privacy Division that will be responsible for enforcing the duty-of-care provisions of the bill.

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