Cato Experts on KIDS Act: One-Size-Fits-All Internet Rules Don’t Protect Kids — They Restrict Everyone

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“Parents, not policymakers, are in the best position to help kids and teens navigate using technology in beneficial ways that reflect each child’s and family’s unique circumstances. Policy like the KIDS Act represents a one-size-fits-all approach that could raise significant concerns by requiring more data collection on users and creating additional concerns for all internet users. It is important to consider not only what requirements under online safety regimes might mean for young users but how these regimes impact all users of the internet’s speech and privacy.

“Elements in the proposal extend beyond social media to AI chatbots. Like with social media, even if they initially appear to make users safer, they are not grounded in any particular scientific findings or industry best practices and could raise speech and privacy concerns. In some cases, such requirements do not evolve or align with the best practices of clinicians, and may eliminate the beneficial use cases for mental health as well.”

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“We all want to protect kids online, but both the original and the revised KIDS Act present major threats to kids’ safety, users’ privacy, parental control, and a free and open internet. The new KIDS Act creates stronger incentives for platforms to employ broad and blunt age restrictions for anyone using their services whenever they ‘should have known’ that a user was a minor. This will result in more restrictions on everyone’s speech and access to information, exacerbating the significant privacy and expression problems with the age verification requirements in this and other bills.

“The KIDS Act, and those like it, demand that both kids and adults identify themselves to access broad swaths of the internet, including social media, AI chatbots, and video games. Users that rely on anonymity for their own security will find themselves put at risk; those discussing sensitive topics online will find their speech chilled; and users merely desiring privacy will have their privacy violated. And parents, rather than being empowered to choose what is best for their family, are forced to follow the government’s parenting strategy.

“The KIDS Act, and bills like it, try to childproof the internet for everyone with a one-size-fits-all approach that simply does not fit the needs of kids, parents, or average users.”

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