By Juan Londoño
In recent years, policymakers at the state level have pushed for “online safety” bills that, while well-intentioned, present significant shortcomings. These sloppily drafted bills often do not garner the necessary support to pass, are vetoed, or are struck down by the courts. From age verification mandates to age-appropriate design codes, these well-intended solutions to online child safety issues simply cannot withstand constitutional and practical shortcomings.
The latest proposals by Congress, the App Store Accountability Act and the Kids Online Safety Act, encounter similarly devastating constitutional, privacy, and implementation issues. However, the negative impact of these bills is magnified because they are federal and will be applied across the country. Policymakers’ stubborn insistence that “something must be done” (even if that “something” destroys the digital domain) is being exported to the national level, with users from Maine to California stuck facing the consequences. It’s time for regulatory zealots to waive the white flag on these destructive proposals and commit to greater safety innovation instead of endless red tape.
The current crop of digital regulatory proposals are ill-advised and burdensome for companies, and policymakers are eager to play up the divide between consumers and businesses in an attempt to impose sweeping rules. But, lawmakers should make no mistake: consumers will bear the brunt of any proposal to short-circuit the digital domain. The bills are likely to lead to more stringent content moderation practices that suppress content users enjoy, expose them to privacy risks, and deter users from using these services altogether. For example, the Kids Online Safety Act’s (KOSA) requirement that online platforms take “reasonable care in the creation and implementation of any design feature to prevent and mitigate” harms to minors such as anxiety and depression is absurdly broad and opens the door to content-based rules against anything that could make anyone upset.
As famed economist Frédéric Bastiat described two centuries ago, policymaking is just as much about what is unseen as it is about what is seen. And, when so much content stands to be restricted by bureaucrats in Washington, DC, the chilling of expression has invisible but very real effects on online life. For example, online support groups mediated by platforms fearful of KOSA may be afraid to tackle anxiety and depression-related issues head-on, resulting in increased suffering from a historically anxious and depressed generation of youth. And, the mere threat of these bills’ enactment has forced companies to prepare for worst-case implementation scenarios, resulting in time and money being spent on regulatory compliance that could have been spent hiring more engineers, investing in more research and development (R&D) initiatives, or upscaling critical technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). These companies should be free to invest their resources in supplying users with an even better online experience than they are used to instead of responding to the latest regulatory frenzy. All fueled by policymakers’ insistence in “solutions” that are continuously proven wrong. With mounting global competitive pressures spurred by emerging technologies like AI, the U.S. cannot afford to create a hostile regulatory environment. Policymakers need to stop using fear to steer companies away from investing in more engineers, refining their AI models, or laying the groundwork for new AI-related infrastructure.
Policymakers have constructive policy alternatives at their reach. Bills like the Invest in Child Safety Act ensure that bureaucrats avoid runaway red-tape and double-down on their duty to protecting minors from criminals. Policymakers aiming to build a safe online environment should strive to establish a baseline level of online safety by curtailing the most dangerous digital behavior such as child exploitation. Rather than impose costly regulatory burdens, lawmakers should slow down, focus on the fundamentals, and ensure that it is committing the necessary resources to curtail online harms.
Juan Londoño is the Chief Regulatory Analyst at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance
