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On Monday, the House passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, a package intended to protect minors from various dangers presented by online platforms such as social media and AI chatbots.
The legislation includes measures regarding age verification, minors’ access to sexually explicit material, limits on “design features that result in compulsive usage,” and tools enabling parents to view the total time their child spends on a platform.
“Kids today face a digital world that is designed for profit, not safety or true connection,” says Jean Twenge, author of “10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World.” Any bill that mandates verifying age “is progress,” she says.
Still, the KIDS Act is not without its detractors, including members of the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain.
In a statement, Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who’ve worked on their own online safety legislation, said, “instead of passing a federal standard that will protect America’s children from Big Tech’s greed, the House of Representatives just passed legislation that is a pale imitation of Big Tech accountability.”
Here’s what some experts and critics say the bill is missing — and what parents can keep in mind as they navigate the digital world their children are likely to encounter.
Critics say the bill leaves important gaps
One of the biggest criticisms of the KIDS Act is that it removes the “duty of care” provision included in earlier versions of the legislation. The legal standard would have required online platforms to identify and mitigate risks such as financial exploitation and reform design features linked to mental health harms.
“It’s the piece that gives the real teeth to the legislation,” says Candice Odgers, professor of psychology and informatics at the University of California. Without it, critics — including Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn — argue tech companies could continue operating much as they do today.
Critics also worry about how platforms would verify users’ ages. Because companies would first need to determine who is and isn’t a minor, they may end up collecting sensitive information from all users, Odgers says, and not aways being able to protect it.
Lastly, some experts argue the bill focuses more on children’s access than on adults who exploit children online.
“If we’re trying to address child safety, we also need to look at other things, like how adults are interacting with children online,” says Jessica Ji, senior research analyst at Center for Security and Emerging Technology, a policy research organization.
Experts agree that parents will continue to play a central role in keeping kids safe
Ultimately, when it comes to how to keep kids safe online, there should be guardrails, says Ji, but also a general acknowledgement “that every guardrail will eventually be bypassed by a determined or clever enough user.”
As far as advice for parents, concerning older kids, “I would have a conversation with them that makes it clear that if they see something frightening online, something that makes them uncomfortable, something that’s weird, that they can talk to you about it,” says Odgers. Stress that their devices won’t be taken away as a result, and they won’t be punished for speaking up.
For younger kids, set parental controls on sites like YouTube, she says, including time limits and content filters.
Twenge would go a step further and advise parents to “postpone getting their kids any type of phone as long as possible,” she says, “and when they do, get them a basic phone designed for children such as Gabb, Troomi, Bark, or Pinwheel with no social media.”
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