Big Tech Spends $90 Million To Block Kids Online Safety Bill
Big Tech companies, including Meta and Google’s parent company Alphabet, have reportedly spent nearly $90 million over the past three years lobbying against the Senate-passed Kids Online Safety Act. The bill, which is designed to protect children from online bullying, mental health issues, and exploitation on social media platforms, is now facing significant opposition from these tech giants, who are trying to influence the narrowly divided House to prevent its passage.
The bill, crafted by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), includes provisions to hold social media companies accountable for the safety of children on their platforms, particularly focusing on the “duty of care” component, which would impose legal responsibility on companies for the harms their platforms may cause to vulnerable users. This provision has drawn strong opposition from Big Tech, which fears increased liability.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the lobbying efforts have targeted both conservative and progressive lawmakers. Big Tech has worked to divide these groups by framing the bill as a threat to freedom of expression. Progressives are concerned about the bill’s potential to censor LGBTQ content, while conservatives worry about the possibility of anti-abortion viewpoints being suppressed. This campaign aims to prevent lawmakers from supporting the bill by leveraging cultural issues that divide the political spectrum.
In addition to the massive lobbying efforts from Meta and Alphabet, non-tech companies like News Corp, which owns The Journal, have also joined the opposition, spending millions of dollars to shape the debate surrounding the bill. Meta has reportedly suggested that instead of holding companies accountable for user safety, the responsibility should fall to parents, advocating for a system where parental consent is required before teens under 16 can download certain apps.
The controversy around the bill also involves the potential for overreach by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which some conservatives fear could use the bill to censor conservative speech online. This concern was reflected in a memo issued by Matt Bravo, a former aide to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, urging House conservatives to block the bill.
Despite these powerful lobbying efforts, the bill has garnered strong support from parents who have lost children to suicide linked to social media addiction and online harassment. Advocates for the bill argue that it is vital for protecting the safety of children online, with many parents of victims speaking out in favor of the legislation.
