Big Tech makes ‘divide and conquer’ bid in Washington to kill Children’s Online Safety Act: sources

Google, Meta and their Big Tech allies have sparked outrage on both sides of the aisle in a desperate scramble to dismantle the Children’s Online Safety Act — and critics say it’s a cynical attempt to protect their profits in at the expense of minors.

Critics of KOSA have portrayed the legislation – which would impose a legal “duty of care” to ensure that social media apps protect children from sexual abuse, drug addiction and dangerous stunts that could cause injury or even death. death – as a disturbing censorship bill.

In a twist that has angered KOSA advocates on Capitol Hill, Big Tech advocates appear to be tailoring their message depending on the constituency they’re trying to influence, according to sources.

NetChoice, an influential center-right tech trade group, claims KOSA is unconstitutional and would result in “increased government power over household decision-making.” Elsewhere, opponents of the bill circulated an unsigned memo describing KOSA as a “major threat to pro-life groups” that could allow Democrats to “shut down the pro-life movement.”

On the other hand, the left-wing House of Progress has called the bill “anti-LGBTQ+” and claims that the Heritage Foundation, which supports KOSA, will use it to advance the “extremist ‘Project 2025’ agenda”.

“They’re in everyone’s ears,” said Alix Fraser, director of the Council for Responsible Social Media. “It’s an all-out and really massive effort on their part to try to undermine trust left and right. They are really trying their best to divide and conquer.”

Lobbying has intensified amid clear signs that KOSA and a companion bill called COPPA 2.0 have broad bipartisan support in Congress. The Senate passed the bills by a wide margin of 91-3 in July. A House panel advanced child safety bills earlier this month, clearing the way for a possible floor vote.

However, it remains unclear whether the bill will pass a gridlocked House before the end of the year. Congress is in recess until after the 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5, leaving the bill’s supporters in the House of Representatives with a short window to draft a finalized version and pass it.

Both Google and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta filed more lobbying disclosures related to KOSA than any other bill in 2024, according to OpenSecrets data.

“We support the development of age-appropriate standards for teens online and appreciate KOSA’s effort to create a consistent set of rules for the industry to follow,” Meta spokesman Daniel Roberts said in a statement. “However, we think there’s a better way to help parents oversee their teens’ online experiences: Federal legislation should require app stores to obtain parental consent whenever their teens under 16 download applications.”

Representatives for Google and NetChoice did not return requests for comment.

Meta, TikTok parent ByteDance, Snap, X and Discord — the five social media firms called to testify at a Senate hearing on online harm to minors in January — spent $30 million in 2023 alone lobbying about KOSA and others focused on technology. invoices, according to statements compiled by Issue One.

In the first half of 2024, Meta’s lobbying spending increased by 43% to a company record of $13.6 million. ByteDance’s spending rose 65% to a record $6 million — though the increase coincided with its efforts to avoid a TikTok sales bill.

“Big tech companies and their front groups are spreading lies about KOSA,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who served as a co-sponsor for KOSA, said in a statement to The Post. “Their goal is to maximize profits – not to protect our children.”

There are signs that some lawmakers are intimidated by Big Tech talking points. An anonymous House leadership aide recently told the Hill that the bill “could lead to censorship of conservative speech.”

The mysterious unsigned memo used to attack KOSA contained many of the same talking points that appeared in a strikingly similar memo that warned lawmakers last June about the American Privacy Rights Act, another bill aimed at to curb Big Tech.

Some wording, such as a claim that the bill “could create a chilling effect on the activities of pro-life groups,” appeared in both memos verbatim.

It’s unclear who wrote the memo, though multiple sources claim a tech trade group is likely responsible.

The tech lobby has relied on “red meat, emotional conservative issues” in a misguided attempt to scare GOP lawmakers and their constituents from supporting KOSA, according to Kara Frederick, a former Facebook executive and director of the Heritage Foundation’s Technology Policy Center.

“To me, it’s very clear what they’re trying to do,” Frederick said. “They’re just trying to kill the bills because they’re exchanging them when the substance and content are fundamentally different.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) initially expressed support for KOSA when it passed the Senate, but has not yet said if or when he will bring it to the floor for a vote.

During the House panel’s evaluation of KOSA, several Democrats criticized a decision to remove mental health impairments such as anxiety and depression from the House version of the duty of care bill, arguing that the bill is much more weaker than the version that passed the Senate.

The concessions were seen as an attempt to allay concerns that mental health disorders were too vague, increasing the risk of improper enforcement.

On the eve of the House hearing on KOSA, Meta announced a series of security updates for Instagram aimed at minors — a move immediately followed by online watchdogs as an apparent attempt to appease lawmakers and avoid a meaningful blow.

Several other tech-funded groups oppose the bill, including the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Electric Frontier Foundation and TechFreedom.

Critics have also focused on the FTC’s role in enforcing the duty of care under KOSA—arguing that it would effectively empower unelected bureaucrats to control online content.

Supporters of the bill, including Blackburn, insist it is focused on ensuring product design features such as recommendation algorithms and automated videos don’t bombard children with harmful content — not moderating specific posts.

The bill makes no changes to Section 230, the statute that protects tech firms from being held liable for third-party postings on their platforms. It also contains language that ensures teen users can search for specific content themselves.

If KOSA passes, it would add momentum to other long-delayed bills aimed at curbing Big Tech, such as a possible repeal of Section 230 or sweeping data privacy laws similar to those in place in Europe.

“They’re fighting this tooth and nail because they know that once the regulatory floodgates open, everything is going to change,” Fraser said.

A TikTok source noted that a significant portion of lobbying spending was related to the stock investment of internal policy team employees as part of their regular compensation.

Last January, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the company could support KOSA with some changes.

“We have not lobbied on this legislation and any insinuation otherwise is simply false,” said TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek.

The dispute has also declined to take a stand. Meanwhile, Snap and X have broken ranks with the tech industry to pass the legislation.