Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) negotiated updated text for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) with Musk’s social media platform X in an effort to quell Republican concerns about censorship in the House.
In a statement over the weekend, the senators announced the updated text for KOSA boosts the protection of freedom of speech for minors online, a key concern for GOP leadership in the House, where the bill remains stalled.
“Led by X, the new changes made to the Kids Online Safety Act strengthen the bill while safeguarding free speech online and ensuring it is not used to stifle expression,” Blackburn and Blumenthal wrote.
“These changes should eliminate once and for all the false narrative that this bill would be weaponized by unelected bureaucrats to censor Americans.”
X CEO Linda Yaccarino echoed their remarks, calling on Congress to pass KOSA before the end of the year.
“At X, protecting our children is our top priority. As I’ve always said, freedom of speech and safety can and must coexist. And as a mother, it’s personal,” she wrote Saturday on X.
Responding to Yaccarino’s statement on X, Musk said, “Protecting kids should always be priority #1.”
Blackburn and Blumenthal thanked Musk and Yaccarino for their “bold leadership,” suggesting the billionaire had some role in the process of updating the text.
The pressure comes with just weeks to go in the lame-duck session. KOSA, along with privacy bill COPPA 2.0, advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in September, but House leadership has mostly sidestepped whether the bills will be brought to the floor before the end of the year.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
