Big Tech is leading a divide-and-conquer push in Washington to kill the Kids Online Safety Act: sources

Google, Meta and their Big Tech allies have stoked outrage on both sides in their desperate attempt to derail the Kids Online Safety Act — and critics say it's a cynical attempt to protect their profits at the expense of minors .

Critics of KOSA have portrayed the legislation – which would impose a legal “duty of care” to ensure social media apps protect children from sexual abuse, drug addiction and risky stunts that could result in injury or even 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 which constituency they want to influence, sources report.

NetChoice, an influential right-wing technology trade group, claims KOSA is unconstitutional and would lead to “greater government power over family decision-making.” Elsewhere, opponents of the bill circulated an unsigned memo calling KOSA 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 Chamber of Progress called the bill “anti-LGBTQ+” and claimed that the Heritage Foundation, which supports KOSA, would use it to advance “the extremist agenda of 'Project 2025'.”

“They’re on everyone’s lips,” said Alix Fraser, director of the Council for Responsible Social Media. “It's a comprehensive and truly massive effort by them to undermine trust on the left and right. They really do their best to divide and conquer.”

Lobbying has increased as there are clear signs that KOSA and a companion bill called COPPA 2.0 enjoy broad bipartisan support in Congress. The Senate passed the bills in July by a whopping 91-3 vote. A House panel tabled child safety bills earlier this month, clearing the way for a possible floor vote.

Still, it remains unclear whether the bill will be passed by a deadlocked House of Representatives before the end of the year. Congress is in recess until after the 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5, leaving the bill's proponents in the House only a short window to draft and pass a final version.

According to OpenSecrets records, both Google and Mark Zuckerberg's Meta filed more lobbying disclosures related to KOSA than any other bill in 2024.

“We support the development of age-appropriate standards for youth online and appreciate KOSA’s attempt to create consistent rules for the industry to follow,” Meta spokesman Daniel Roberts said in a statement. “However, we believe there is a better way to help parents monitor their teens' online experiences: Federal law should require app stores to obtain parental consent when their teens under 16 download apps. “

Representatives for Google and NetChoice did not respond to requests for comment.

Meta, TikTok parent company ByteDance, Snap, bills, according to disclosures compiled by Issue One.

In the first half of 2024, Meta's lobbying spending increased 43% to a company record of $13.6 million. ByteDance's spending rose 65% to a record $6 million – although the increase coincided with efforts to head off a bill for its divestment from TikTok.

“Big tech companies and their front groups are spreading lies about KOSA,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who served as a co-lead 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 unsettled by Big Tech's 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 attacking KOSA contained many of the same arguments that appeared in a strangely similar memo warning lawmakers last June about the American Privacy Rights Act, another bill aimed at overcoming Big Contain tech.

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

It's unclear who wrote the memo, although several sources suggest a technology trade group was likely responsible.

According to Kara Frederick, a former Facebook executive and director of the Heritage Foundation's Tech Policy Center, the tech lobby has leaned on “red-color, emotive conservative themes” in a misleading attempt to dissuade Republican lawmakers and their constituents from supporting KOSA.

“It’s pretty obvious to me what they’re trying to do,” Frederick said. “They are just trying to kill the bills because they are swapping them when the content and substance are fundamentally different.”

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

During the House's comments on KOSA, some Democrats criticized the decision to remove mental health harms such as anxiety and depression from the House bill's version of duty of care, arguing the bill was much weaker than the version passed by the Senate.

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

On the eve of the House panel's hearing on KOSA, Meta announced a series of Instagram security updates aimed at minors – a move that was immediately seen by online watchdogs as an apparent attempt to appease lawmakers and encourage serious action impede.

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 due diligence under KOSA, arguing that it would effectively give unelected bureaucrats the power to police online content.

The bill's supporters, including Blackburn, insist that it focuses on ensuring that product design features such as recommendation algorithms and autoplay videos don't bombard children with harmful content – and is not aimed at moderating certain posts.

The bill makes no changes to Section 230, the law that protects tech companies from being held liable for third-party posts on their platforms. It also includes language to ensure teen users can search for specific content themselves.

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

“They are fighting this with all their might because they know that once the floodgates of regulation are opened, everything will change,” Fraser said.

A TikTok source noted that a significant portion of the lobbying expenses are related to the transfer of shares from the employees of the internal policy team as part of their regular compensation.

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

“We did not advocate for this legislation and any suggestion otherwise is simply false,” said TikTok spokesman Alex Haurek.

Discord has also declined to comment. Meanwhile, Snap and X broke with the tech industry to support the legislation.