Protecting Kids Online

There’s a lot of nasty stuff online – things we would prefer our kids not see, at least not until they’re mature enough to handle it. Our elected representatives have proposed various regulations to try to protect kids online, and while this is obviously a laudable goal, the devil is always in the details. Many of the proposed solutions have serious negative consequences for both kids and adults, chilling free speech and blocking useful content. I’ll discuss the latest iteration of these proposed solutions in the US called the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) as well as the similar Online Safety Act in the UK. With me is Joe Mullin, senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Interview Notes Joe Mullin (EFF): https://www.eff.org/about/staff/joe-mullin  EFF on KOSA: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/dont-fall-latest-changes-dangerous-kids-online-safety-act  EFF on KOSA in depth: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/03/analyzing-kosas-constitutional-problems-depth  Contact Congress: https://www.eff.org/congress  EFF on CA ballot initiative: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/eff-opposes-california-initiative-would-cause-mass-censorship  EFF submission to Ofcom: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/03/effs-submission-ofcoms-consultation-illegal-harms  Santa Clara Principles for online content moderation: https://santaclaraprinciples.org/  Further Info Treasure & Coin Promo: https://fdsd.me/promo424  Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna  Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book  Subscribe to the newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter  Become a patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons  Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch  Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons  Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support  Generate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/ Table of Contents Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show. 0:00:56: Eclipse! 0:01:50: Treasure & Coin promo update 0:02:29: Interview preview 0:03:41: What are the primary concerns today with kids on the internet? 0:08:24: What laws already exist to protect kids online? 0:17:05: What are the key provisions of KOSA? 0:25:04: What content is KOSA trying to restrict based on age? 0:34:22: What did we learn from the UK’s Online Safety Act? 0:38:47: Doesn’t KOSA interfere with Section 230? 0:44:41: How does KOSA impact content access for adults? 0:50:17: Are our representatives seeking insights from groups like EFF? 0:54:58: Are there onlione safety regulations EFF could support? 0:58:55: Do you have any advice for parents on protecting their kids online? 1:06:55: Interview wrap-up 1:08:59: Patron bonus content 1:09:28: Looking ahead