this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
54 points (100.0% liked)

Politics

10181 readers
137 users here now

In-depth political discussion from around the world; if it's a political happening, you can post it here.


Guidelines for submissions:

These guidelines will be enforced on a know-it-when-I-see-it basis.


Subcommunities on Beehaw:


This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

An excellent article by Melissa Gira Grant. An excerpt:

"In the 2000s, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called social media sites a “playground for predators.” Blumenthal’s rhetoric hasn’t changed much in 15 years: Now he and h>is allies in this effort on the Hill speak of the platforms themselves as preying on children’s well-being....

For KOSA supporters on the right, like the think tank the Heritage Foundation, defining “harm” to children in this way—aligning with the broader reactionary movement to silence any opponents of the white, straight, and cis patriarchal order—is precisely the benefit of the bill. Democrats who say they support trans kids, though, seem to be unalarmed by the reasons a group like Heritage might back this bill."

If you're in the US, https://www.stopkosa.com/ has a form to contact Congress. Or look up your Senators' phone numbers here and call them directly. Tell them you want to oppose S. 1409, the Kids Online Safety Act because it won't help keep kids safe and it'll harm LGBTQ teens.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] HulkSmashBurgers@reddthat.com 6 points 1 year ago

Some progressive supporters of KOSA describe the bill as a way to protect kids from the harm platforms can cause. Yet despite how it has been marketed, KOSA is ultimately concerned with policing the content and conduct of internet users, not with addressing the relatively unaccountable power of the tech platforms themselves.

Yep. It seems like people in power don't like how easy it is for people to share ideas/information. People might start thinking in ways that disrupt the status quo and they can't have that.