Addressing Misinformation About the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)

By: Lily Moric, Communications & Campaigns Specialist, NCOSE

A few months ago, I made the mistake of getting into a debate on social media.

I usually avoid such debates, as they tend to be highly unproductive. But when I saw a post rallying people to sign actions opposing the Kids Online Safety Act, claiming the bill would supposedly censor the LGBTQ+ community—and when I saw how many people were panicking and signing, without further investigating that claim—I felt compelled to at least try to correct the misinformation...

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has been the subject of much fear mongering and misinformation. At first glance, points raised by KOSA opponents seem alarming. After all, who wants a bill that suppresses the LGBTQ+ community? Who wants a bill that destroys online privacy? Certainly, I don’t.

But the truth is, KOSA does not do either of those things. Read more. 

📣 ACTION: Ask your Senators to Co-Sponsor KOSA

📣 ACTION: Share this Blog on Social Media

Help combat misinformation about KOSA by sharing this blog on social media! You can use the social icons under the title to easily share. 

Another Child Kidnapped Due to Roblox

News hit this week of yet another child who was kidnapped due to the supposedly child-friendly gaming platform, Roblox. 

Blaze News reported about how an 11-year-old girl was abducted by a Delaware man she met on Roblox and driven more than 135 miles away, before she was rescued by the police. 

This is not an isolated incident. NCOSE featured Roblox on the 2023 Dirty Dozen List, due to multiple instances of child grooming and/or kidnapping, for purpose of sexual exploitation. Despite these repetitive tragedies, and despite its extremely young userbase, Roblox has shamefully inadequate child protection measures. Learn more here

📣 ACTION: Call on Roblox to Prioritize Child Safety!

WSJ: Smartphones Have Turbocharged the Danger of Porn

"[O]f the new compulsive behaviors enabled by smartphones, few have as intense and immediate a reward cycle as porn—or as many far-reaching consequences. 

Research is already shedding light on the psychological and physical toll of easily available pornography ... Indeed, a 2013 study led by psychiatrist Valerie Voon of Cambridge University found that people who exhibit compulsive sexual behavior, or sex addiction, have a similar neurological reaction to pornography as drug addicts do to thoughts of taking drugs... 

Today’s young people, conditioned by handheld access to the reward cycle of violent pornographic stimulus and orgasmic dopamine hits, are maturing into adults who expect sex to involve violence ... A survey commissioned by the BBC in 2020 found that 71% of British men under 40 have slapped, choked or spat on a partner during sex, with more than half stating that porn had influenced their desire to do so." 

Read more here.

WeProtect Global Alliance: Global Threat Assessment 2023

Assessing the scale and scope of child sexual exploitation and abuse online, to transform the response

Child sexual exploitation and abuse online is escalating worldwide at an alarming rate. A couple quick facts.

👉The National Center on Missing & Exploited Children analysed 320 million reports of child sexual abuse material in 2022

👉The Internet Watch Foundation observed a 360% increase in self-generated child sexual abuse material of 7-10 year-olds from 2020-2022

We Protect's 2023 Global Threat Assessment report confronts these trends and proposes crucial solutions, saying:

"To curb current trends, we urgently need to deploy Safety by Design, align internet regulation globally, and apply public health approaches to violence prevention. Incorporating children’s voices and a child-centered approach will enhance our understanding of the threat and address gaps in the response."

Download the full report here.

Sincerely,

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