Free Speech

Stop the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act

The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act would lead to a second-class online experience for young people, mandated privacy-invasive age verification for all users, and in all likelihood, the creation of digital IDs for all U.S. citizens and residents. The bill will make it illegal for anyone under 13 to join a social media platform, and require parental consent, verified by the government, for anyone between the ages of 13 and 18 to do so. The world envisioned by the authors of this bill is one where everyone has less privacy and less power to speak out and access information online.

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This bill is technically an alternative to the dangerous Kids Online Safety Act, but it is a bad one. No one should have to hand over their driver’s license just to access free websites. Having to hand over that driver’s license to a government program doesn’t solve the problem. The end result of this law would likely be that a huge number of young people—particularly the most vulnerable—would lose access to social media platforms, which can play a critical role for young people in accessing resources and support in a wide variety of circumstances. Tell your Senator you oppose it.

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As your constituent, I urge you to reject and publicly oppose the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act.

This bill would force social media platforms  to implement age verification systems that would threaten all users’ privacy and right to access the internet anonymously. No one should have to hand over their driver’s license just to access free websites. No age verification method is sufficiently reliable, covers the entire population, and protects data privacy and security. The government-run “pilot program” for digital ID created by the bill would risk falling down a slippery slope toward a national digital ID for all purposes. And by banning children under 13  from all social media, and requiring older teens to get parental consent to use a social media platform, the bill would infringe on young people’s free speech rights, access to information, and—important for older teens—their autonomy. It is not the correct approach to safety online.

The world envisioned by the authors of this bill is one where everyone has less power to speak out and access information online. Please publicly oppose the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act.

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