Blumenthal: Kids’ Privacy Bill Sponsors Have Schumer’s Support
Sponsors of kids’ privacy legislation have the support of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters Thursday. Blumenthal was scheduled to meet with Schumer just before the start of the August recess (see 2307270058), after the Senate Commerce Committee passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) (S-3663) by voice vote. He was in "active, ongoing conversations" with Senate leadership about moving KOSA, a Blumenthal aide said Monday: Schumer’s office didn’t comment.
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Blumenthal said during a Thursday conference call with lead Republican sponsor Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee that he’s “convinced” they can get the bill across the finish line. “We have leadership’s support on the issue, and our leadership is interested in moving ahead. This issue has been bipartisan,” he said: It’s going to be a “priority for the remainder of this session.”
Supporters “cleared that all-important, first hurdle,” said Blackburn, citing the Commerce Committee vote. Blumenthal is working “diligently” to get Schumer to “put it on the floor in September,” she said. “We want to get it to the House, so the attention will go to the House as soon as we get it off the Senate floor.” The bill passed committee last year but didn’t get floor time.
Supporters noted the bill passed late in the second half of a two-year session in 2022 (see 2207210056). “They were up against the wall,” said Eleanor Kennelly Gaetan, vice president-public policy of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, one of the bill's major supporters. “There was excellent mobilization happening, but it was late last year.” She noted the Senate Judiciary Committee is going to aid the legislative push, as Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is seeking Schumer’s support for his kids’ safety bills (see 2305240050). Durbin is “talking about a package,” and Schumer has been “excellent on these issues,” she said.
KOSA now has the support of the News/Media Alliance, which worked with sponsors to exempt news websites from the bill’s platform obligations. The organization is seeking similar changes in a kids’ privacy bill from Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., which passed unanimously during the Senate Commerce Committee markup. The News/Media Alliance and its members always supported “high standards of care” for the handling of user data, CEO Danielle Coffey told us Friday. “Across the board in all privacy legislation, we come to the table with the premise that we are protective of our readers’ privacy.” Then it’s a matter of whether the legislation “impedes our ability” to deliver and monetize content, she said: It’s a “balancing act,” and KOSA “ended up in the right place.”
Tech groups remain opposed to KOSA. Opposition also includes Access Now, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Democracy & Technology, Fight for the Future, the Internet Society, the Open Technology Institute, Tech Freedom and the Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center. Fight for the Future on Thursday noted opposition recently from Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla. Frost, the youngest member of Congress, wrote to constituents saying the increased data collection and parental surveillance resulting from the legislation outweighs the benefits. He noted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has supported such policies as a way to censor LGBTQ+ content.