Elon Musk’s X collaborated with the US lawmakers behind the landmark Kids Online Safety Act to ensure that it doesn’t infringe on free speech, CEO Linda Yaccarino revealed.
The strong signal of support from Yaccarino and Musk could provide a major boost to the bipartisan online safety bill – which passed the Senate in a 91-3 vote last July but has since stalled in the House due to concerns among some Republicans that it could enable censorship.
The Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, would impose a legal “duty of care” to ensure social-media apps shield kids from sexual abuse, drug addiction and risky stunts that can cause injury or even death. It is widely seen as the most consequential bill regulating Big Tech in decades.
“After working with the bill authors, I’m proud to share that we’ve made progress to further protect freedom of speech while maintaining safety for minors online,” Yaccarino wrote on X.
“We urge Congress and the House to pass the Kids Online Safety Act this year,” she added.
Musk, who has emerged as a key donor and adviser to President-elect Trump, also signaled support for the bill in a reply to Yaccarino’s post.
“Protecting kids should always be priority #1,” Musk wrote.
Donald Trump Jr. provided another major endorsement on Sunday, writing that “we can protect free speech and our kids at the same time from Big Tech.”
“It’s time for House Republicans to pass the Kids Online Safety Act ASAP,” Trump Jr. said.
The endorsements came at a critical moment. Congress has just two weeks left to pass KOSA before its current session end and lawmakers have other pressing concerns during that limited window, including securing passage of a measure to fund the US government.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the lead cosponsors on the Senate version of KOSA, praised X for weighing in on the bill’s language.
“These changes should eliminate once and for all the false narrative that this bill would be weaponized by unelected bureaucrats to censor Americans,” the senators said in a joint statement.
“We thank Elon and Linda for their bold leadership and commitment to protecting children online and for helping us get this bill across the finish line this Congress,” they added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hasn’t scheduled a floor vote for the bill. House Majority Steve Scalise (R-La.) has also expressed skepticism about the bill.
Critics have blasted Google, Meta and their Big Tech allies for bankrolling what was described as a “divide and conquer” bid to kill KOSA in the House, as The Post reported in September.
Advocates for Big Tech have been tailoring their message about KOSA depending on which constituency they’re trying to influence – telling House Republicans it can be weaponized against conservative speech and telling Democrats that it is “anti-LGBTQ+” and could limit pro-choice speech, sources said at the time.
Yaccarino had earlier endorsed while representing X at a high-profile Senate hearing on online safety for kids last January.
X and Snapchat have notably broken ranks with most of the tech industry to support KOSA.
