Kids Online Safety Push Faces First Amendment Hurdles
Congress is considering competing House and Senate bills to protect children online, but faces significant First Amendment challenges similar to those that have blocked state-level laws. The article highlights Utah's experience, where a law limiting social media design features for minors was blocked by a preliminary injunction for being a content-based speech restriction. Kate Ruane of the Center for Democracy and Technology notes that both federal proposals raise the same constitutional questions as state laws, particularly around age verification burdens on protected speech. The House passed the KIDS Act requiring reasonable policies, while the Senate's Kids Online Safety Act would impose a stronger duty of care. The Supreme Court recently declined to intervene in a Texas app store age verification law, leaving it in effect pending district court review.
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