Image: © ulza/Stock.adobe.com
The two pieces of legislation aim to put more responsibilities on digital platforms to tackle harmful content online, but some critics say the bills could lead to censorship issues.
The US Senate overwhelmingly voted in favour of new legislation to expand online privacy and safety for children, which would put more responsibilities on Big Tech.
The two bills in the package – the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act – would create a “duty of care” for digital platforms, forcing them to take extra steps to protect children from harmful content online. The type of harms include online bullying, sexual exploitation, drug promotion and eating disorders.
The vote follows a long period of pressure from the US government and parents on digital platforms over concerns they are not doing enough to protect children. A Senate hearing against five Big Tech CEOs earlier this year heard from families negatively impacted by social media. Senators referenced specific examples of young people who died by suicide – allegedly influenced by their experiences on social media platforms.
The bills passed with a Senate vote of 91 for and three against, but there is still a long journey to go before it can pass into law. US president Joe Biden urged the US House to send the legislation to his desk without delay, AP reports.
“Today our children are subjected to a wild west online and our current laws and regulations are insufficient to prevent this,” Biden said, according to AP. “It is past time to act.”
Censorship concerns
The legislation has received support from US politicians, parents and various tech companies including Microsoft. But some groups have voiced concerns that the legislation could be used to impact free speech and censor specific groups.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the bill could threaten users’ privacy and compared it to “book bans and classroom censorship laws”, AP reports.
The concerns are not without merit, as one of the co-sponsors of the Kids Online Safety Act previously said that the Act could be used to steer kids away from seeing transgender content online.
Privacy concerns were also raised about the UK’s Online Safety Act, a set of rules focused on protecting children from online harm by placing more responsibility on tech companies to prevent and remove illegal and harmful content. Various companies and privacy rights groups spoke out against parts of the bill that could compromise end-to-end encryption.
Find out how emerging tech trends are transforming tomorrow with our new podcast, Future Human: The Series. Listen now on Spotify, on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
