Written by Sarah Durand – Vice President, Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics & Education (KYFREE)
Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are once again considering a bill that appears to protect children but, in reality, poses serious threats to our fundamental freedoms. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is being promoted as a way to shield minors from harmful online content. However, behind the comforting name lies a deeply flawed proposal that expands government power, undermines parental rights, and threatens free speech.
As Vice President of the Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics & Education (KYFREE), I help lead an organization dedicated to advancing free-market values and empowering individuals across the Commonwealth. While we fully agree that children’s online safety is a valid concern, KOSA is not the solution.
Rather than empowering families, KOSA empowers unelected federal bureaucrats. It would force private companies to act as government censors, pressuring platforms to moderate content based on vague and subjective terms like “harm to minors” or “the common good.” These undefined concepts will be interpreted by whichever political party is in power at the time, creating a dangerous precedent for censorship and ideological control. The result is a chilling effect on speech that impacts all users – both children and adults.
As a mother, I find this particularly alarming. KOSA hands over decisions about my children’s online activity to distant bureaucrats who don’t know my family and have no business making those judgments. It strips parents of the right and responsibility to guide their children’s online experiences. The United States Constitution does not grant Washington the authority to override parental judgment or regulate speech in this way.
KOSA also represents a massive expansion of federal oversight. It gives the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other agencies the power to define what content is “appropriate” online according to their own ideological frameworks. This isn’t just a content moderation issue – it’s a power grab that replaces local and family-level decision-making with centralized federal control.
This kind of overreach directly contradicts KYFREE’s mission. We work every day to promote individual liberty, limited government, and the free exchange of ideas. KOSA, despite its well-meaning title, undermines all three. It would censor viewpoints, restrict access to information, and stifle conservative voices, all in the name of child protection.
Rather than protecting the next generation, KOSA puts their digital future at risk. Children deserve a free and open internet, not one distorted by government surveillance, censorship, and partisan standards of “safety.” Online regulation should be the responsibility of parents, not politicians or bureaucrats.
Protecting children online is a shared priority, but it must be done in a way that respects constitutional freedoms and empowers families. If we truly want to safeguard America’s youth, we should focus on equipping parents with better tools to control what their children see online, expanding digital literacy, and promoting real accountability from tech companies without sacrificing our rights in the process.
KOSA is not the answer. It’s a threat to liberty dressed up as protection. Lawmakers must see it for what it is and say no.
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Sarah Durand is the Vice-President for Government Affairs at the Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics & Education (KYFREE), a non-profit policy think tank. Her email address is: sdurand@kyfree.org.