House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) recently revealed he likes the concept of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), though the details of the Senate-passed version are “very problematic,” underscoring the uncertain future the bill faces in the lower chamber.
“I love the principle, but the details of that are very problematic,” Johnson told Punchbowl News in an interview in Pennsylvania published Monday morning.
The Speaker said the Senate bill, as written, would have “unintended consequences,” Punchbowl reported. Johnson’s office confirmed his comments to The Hill.
His remarks come after the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced KOSA in markup despite pushback from several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
KOSA, which overwhelmingly passed the Senate in a 91-3 vote in late July, is intended to boost online privacy and safety for children. The bill would create regulations for the kinds of features tech and social media companies offer kids online and aims to reduce the addictive nature and mental health impact of these platforms.
Punchbowl reported Johnson did not appear open to persuasion on the Senate version, a potential blow to KOSA advocates who previously told the outlet the House leader might be flexible.
While the bill advanced out of the House committee last month, committee members in both parties expressed concerns with its language, for different reasons.
Some Republicans said they were worried the bill would give the Federal Trade Commission “sweeping authority,” and the potential censorship of conservative views, a House leadership source told The Hill last month.
Some Democrats, meanwhile, said they could not support the House version, which includes amendments altering the language over KOSA’s “duty of care” provision.
As written in the Senate version, the provision would require platforms to design and implement features for minors to prevent and reduce harm such as those caused by content promoting suicide and eating disorders.
The uncertainty over the legislation follows months of pressure from Senate lawmakers, namely Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the co-author of the upper chamber’s version of the bill, to bring it to the House floor.
Blackburn and various advocacy groups led various campaigns and meetings with members before the committee announced the markup last month.
