Government Regulations Shouldn’t Replace Parents’ Decisions
By Matt Adams
One of the biggest joys of being a parent is having the opportunity to guide your child’s growth and development and judge what’s best for their individual needs. Proposed legislation before Congress such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) would strip that choice from parents, removing the right to decide what content their children can access online based on their values and beliefs.
The internet is an invaluable resource for learning, creativity and social interaction and digital literacy is crucial for young teenagers’ educational and personal development. In some cases, parents may choose to withhold social media privileges from their children for personal reasons, and they have every right to do so. Crucially, whatever their choice, this decision is for parents to make.
Heavy-handed governmental regulations risk taking away this priceless opportunity for parents to decide how to raise their children. Overregulation could lead to censorship of diverse viewpoints and ideas, hindering free speech, critical thinking and creativity online among teenagers, potentially limiting the internet’s role as a dynamic educational tool. Online restrictions should not be a government-enforced order; the power should be entrusted to the individuals who are closest to and care most about their children: parents.
While it’s clear that there can be drawbacks to children having unrestricted social media, the framework put forth by KOSA is not an adequate method of addressing and limiting these harms. As a parent of two children, keeping our kids safe and protected is imperative. As such, I firmly believe that parental controls should be just that: parental controls –– not controls put in place by the government. Tech companies should provide robust parental control tools, allowing parents to customize and monitor their children’s online experiences according to their family values and concerns. Since every family has its unique structure, why should the government deny parents the freedom to decide how to raise their children?
Instead of relying solely on governmental regulation, efforts aimed at bettering children’s lifestyles and how they interact with the internet should focus on promoting digital literacy among parents and children. Teaching both parties how to navigate the online world safely and responsibly is a balanced approach that supports parental control tools while safeguarding the internet as an open and educational space for youths. It’s a God-given right to have the ability to choose how to parent, so it follows that a parent’s right to decide what content their children can access online should adhere to their principles and convictions. Each family is unique, with different cultural, religious and ethical considerations shaping what they deem appropriate for their children. Imposing universal restrictive mandates undermines trust between parents and their children, families and educational institutions.
KOSA not only suppresses parents’ freedom to make personal decisions about raising their children, but it also threatens to worsen the online experience for everyone. This shift in regulation may result in less user-friendly social media platforms and services as companies are forced to prioritize compliance over improving user experience. Moreover, the economic ramifications of KOSA extend beyond social media platforms to encompass broader digital services and innovation. The potential for innovation in artificial intelligence and other world-changing technologies may be hindered as companies divert resources to meet complex, intricate regulatory requirements rather than investing in further research and development.
While KOSA may intend to enhance online safety and protect user rights, as proposed it will only undermine them. Its implementation risks imposing heavy restrictions that take away parents’ rights, deprive kids of crucial opportunities for their growth and development, negatively impact the digital economy by worsening the user experience, and open the door to government censorship of the web on ideological grounds.
KOSA is the wrong approach to keeping our kids safe, and will only do more harm than good. Rather, we need a responsible approach which recognizes that balance between protection and governmental regulation is crucial to fostering a safe, innovative environment that benefits all stakeholders, from parents and children to businesses and the economy, without exposing our children to greater harm or undermining parental autonomy.
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