UK and US Propose New Online Safety Laws to Protect Minors
The UK and US have proposed new online safety laws. The UK's Online Safety Act (OSA) and the US's Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) aim to protect minors from harmful online content, each with its unique approach.
The OSA, set to shield children from harmful material, mandates explicit content categorization, making certain content inaccessible to under-18s. It applies extraterritorially and subjects larger platforms to more stringent duties. Ofcom will define evolving standards and enforce compliance. Meanwhile, KOSA creates a two-tier system, imposing core safety obligations on all platforms likely to be used by minors. Only larger platforms must provide annual transparency reports and third-party audits. KOSA regulates design features and avoids direct content mandates, focusing on platforms' business practices and technical architecture as content-neutral measures.
Both acts spring from different systems and are shaped by different constitutional limits. The OSA grants Ofcom sweeping power to decide content access, while KOSA's enforcement falls under regulators like the FTC in the US. The OSA requires age-checking technologies, while KOSA employs a 'knowledge' standard and avoids new data collection.
The UK's Online Safety Act and the US's Kids Online Safety Act both aim to protect minors online, but they differ in their approach to content regulation, enforcement, and data collection. The UK's act mandates content categorization and gives broad powers to Ofcom, while the US's act focuses on platforms' practices and respects First Amendment rights.
