Rand Paul Calls Out “Kids Online Safety Act” as Giving Government “Bizarre” Censorship Powers

[Artaxerxes II]

https://nypost.com/2024/08/02/us-news/r ... any-lives/

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) passed with flying bipartisan colors in the Senate Tuesday — but Rand Paul stood virtually alone against it.

“I have a great deal of sympathy for the issue,” Sen. Paul (R-KY) told The Post. “But I’m afraid it will lead to censorship.”

The bill, which passed with a whopping 91 votes in favor, is an attempt to protect children from the harms of the internet. It establishes a “duty of care” for social media platforms to protect minors, and would require them to suppress content that could cause harm.

Paul said that, while the bill is well-intentioned, it could enable the government to censor speech that it subjectively deems anxiety-provoking for youth.

“The whole idea that we’re going to set up a committee and we’re going to give a vague definition of anxiety — and then say anything that causes anxiety we’re going to give a group the power to regulate — is bizarre,” Paul added.

He referred to the “absurdity of the anxiety argument,” explaining that virtually anything could be considered anxiety-producing by the Federal Trade Commission, which has been tasked with enforcement of KOSA.

Paul points to a Harvard survey that found 65% of people aged 15 to 30 say they have intrusive anxiety about climate change on a daily basis. Therefore, KOSA could theoretically be used to censor climate change content.

“I would be one of the first people kicked off the internet because I’m sure that I say things that cause people anxiety,” the senator said. “I just think there’s a real danger in letting government regulate this or take things down.”

[Fragment]

"Protect kids from negative feelings bill".

How about we just let them grow up and only take action if their physical safety is at risk?