Fears over First Amendment restrictions and threats to critical LGBTQ content online have prompted several New York-based queer organizations to join a cross-section of groups from around the country in an open letter this month asking Democratic congressional leaders to ditch their support for federal legislation that purports to protect children’s safety on the internet.
The letter comes after years of negotiations over the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which has been branded as legislation protecting minors from harmful online content and has passed the US Senate and a House committee. But some groups have sounded the alarm due to multiple reasons, including vague legal language that advocates say could serve as a slippery slope leading to restrictions on queer content online under the guise of protecting children.
