Fairplay is deeply disturbed to see transphobic and homophobic activists threatening to weaponize the Kids Online Safety Act against queer, trans, and gender nonconforming youth. KOSA will create the online protections that every child needs, including LGBTQ+ youth – it is not a cudgel to be used against children seeking support for and understanding of their identities.
When the Kids Online Safety Act was introduced last year, LGBTQ+ advocates expressed concerns about how the bill could be used to harm queer youth. As a result of their advocacy, a number of key changes were made to the bill to ensure that KOSA could not be weaponized against young LGBTQ+ people. The newly reintroduced Kids Online Safety Act was revised so that LGBTQ+ content would not be interpreted as harmful to children, and ensures that young people on the internet are not restricted from deliberately and independently searching for specific content.
Fairplay proudly stands up for the safety and wellbeing of every child, including and especially LGBTQ+ youth. We unequivocally oppose the ongoing efforts to restrict trans youth from accessing lifesaving gender affirming care, as well as efforts to limit LGBTQ+ youth from finding community, support, and resources online. Every child deserves access to an internet that is supportive of who they are, affirming of their identity, and safe.
To learn more about how the Kids Online Safety Act has been changed to protect LGBTQ youth, read this fact sheet from Fairplay, American Psychological Association, Center for Digital Democracy, Common Sense, Eating Disorders Coalition, Design it For Us, Half the Story, Mental Health America, and ReThink.
