Design It For Us Calls on House of Representatives to Pass the Kids Online Safety Act
Youth coalition co-hosted a rally on Capitol Hill to call for immediate action on KOSA before the end of the year.
Design It For Us today gathered with youth, legislators, parents and advocates on Capitol Hill for a rally to call on the House of Representatives to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) before the end of the year. Members Matthew Allaire and Vanessa Li shared their personal experiences to demand urgent action from congressional leaders. An excerpt of their remarks are as follows:
“The Kids Online Safety Act is our chance to finally fight back. This bill has the power to shut down algorithms that hurt our children. It gives both parents and kids real tools and real control over our online lives. And when these platforms step out of line? They’ll finally face real consequences,” said Matthew Allaire, member of Design It For Us. “Protecting our kids isn’t about left and right — it’s about right and wrong. The time is now to pass the Kids Online Safety Act and show America that when our children are in crisis — we answer the call.”
“With the Kids Online Safety Act, we are a step closer towards creating a safer digital space for our young people, ensuring that we can navigate social media without harm. Social media can be a space for empowerment and innovation, but only if the companies behind it prioritize people over profit,” said Vanessa Li, member of Design It For Us and the American Youth Association. “And so, I urgently ask that we pass this bill, because no digital interaction is worth the cost of human life.”
Today’s rally was co-hosted with KOSA coalition members Accountable Tech, Fairplay, ParentsSOS, Common Sense, Eating Disorders Coalition For Research, Policy, & Action, Issue One, Mamas Against Media Addiction, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, Parents Together Action, and dozens of other organizations.
More about Design It For Us’ work to advocate for the passage of KOSA:
- Design It For Us first started as a campaign effort to pass the California Age-Appropriate Design Code in 2022 and has since become a youth-led coalition advocating for safer social media and online platforms for kids, teens, and young adults.
- The coalition has long endorsed and worked toward the passage of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), which constitute KOSPA.
- Last summer, Design It For Us spent a week in Washington, D.C. meeting with White House officials, congressional members, and their staff to demand urgent action on kids’ safety legislation, including KOSA and COPPA 2.0, which led to the bills’ unanimous and bipartisan passage out of the Senate Commerce Committee.
- At the start of 2024, Design It For Us protested in the Senate Judiciary hearing with the CEOs of Meta, TikTok, X, Snap, and Discord on their failure to protect young people online and co-hosted a rally advocating for immediate action on kids’ safety legislation.
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