We must stop KOSA (Kid’s Online Safety Act)
Equality New Mexico, the statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization in New Mexico, opposes the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which has been making its way through Congress in various forms and shapes for a couple of years.
While EQNM does not typically engage in federal policy advocacy, this bill endangers the impact of the hard-fought wins we have secured at the State Level.
We are fortunate to have an entire Congressional Delegation that’s particularly strong and supportive of LGBTQ issues at the federal level. This is why we told them all that we see KOSA as particularly dangerous to LGBTQ young people, a fact that has been hidden or outright lied about multiple times by supporters of the act.
LGBTQ people grow up experiencing significant isolation. In fact, queer and trans adults have no shortage of stories about how we felt like we were “the only one” like us for most of our childhoods. And every LGBTQ person will tell you that if we had known more of each other and had access to accurate information about ourselves and our community at a younger age, we would have grown up with fewer mental health struggles, and many of us would have better physical health outcomes as well.
While we have seen improvements in the lives of young LGBTQ people, we cannot ignore the new attacks, which are specifically focused on Trans Youth - disguised as protection but, in reality, just working to further isolate and harm Queer and Trans young people by making them believe they are “broken” or don’t know who they are yet. KOSA is one of these new attacks, which will allow states to restrict access to life-saving information for LGBTQ young people.
KOSA, while claiming to protect young people from the dangers of the internet (yes, the internet can be dangerous for young people), is much more harmful.
Last year, KOSA - was opposed by a large coalition of national and state organizations. And in that process - Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn met with some groups in opposition but did not change the bill substantially enough to make it less dangerous for us.
At the end of the day, this bill allows state Attorneys’ General to sue individuals and entities for violation of its clauses - written vaguely in theory to protect children; in reality, this is just a means for overly zealous anti-LGBTQ extremists to attack those of us who work to empower and engage LGBTQ youth in finding their authentic selves and finding a way to live that life safely and healthily.
One only needs to look at what sponsors and supporters have said about this bill to see the true dangers:
KOSA’s co-author, Senator Marsha Blackburn, was recorded lauding KOSA as a solution shortly after stating that “protecting minor children from the transgender in this culture” should be a policy priority.
The Heritage Foundation has cited KOSA as a means to target content about being transgender and explained their support for the bill, stating, “Keeping trans content away from children is protecting kids.”
States like Texas and Idaho are considering — or have enacted — proposals to restrict information about abortion access, often in the name of “protect[ing] our children.” Much of the rhetoric around book banning has already laid the groundwork for proposals like KOSA to be weaponized to censor resources on race, history, sexual orientation, gender, and mental health and well-being.
States are banning accurate education about our history of slavery and racial discrimination from the classroom because it causes students to “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or another form of psychological distress.”
Although many of the harms addressed by the bill are purportedly tied to “evidence-informed medical information,” lawmakers and attorneys general often point to medical “studies” to justify targeting transgender people and reproductive rights.
We at Equality New Mexico have asked our entire delegation to oppose KOSA - and to make public support to slow this bill's progress nationally.
The Fight for the Future has put together a list of policies that would protect young people, and we ask you to consider looking at those policy proposals when your office is talking about these issues.
Talk to your friends and family about the harms of KOSA and urge them to show opposition themselves.