KOSA and the 2024 Election: No Repeal Promises from Top Candidates
The race for the White House is heating up, but when it comes to the Kids Online Safety Act—better known as KOSA—Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both keeping their cards close. This isn’t just some side issue. KOSA is set to shake up how big tech handles everything from TikTok to gaming platforms by demanding tighter controls to shield kids from some of the internet’s darkest corners. Yet, neither candidate has come out and promised to repeal the law. In fact, they’re both dodging the question, and that tells us a lot about the mood in Washington right now.
The Senate moved things forward in July 2024 by passing a joint KOSA/COPPA 2.0 bill. This package is now forcing sites and apps to build serious guardrails for anyone under 17. What’s new? For starters, it targets the growing nightmare of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Big platforms must prove they’re filtering out this content, while law enforcement is getting more muscle to prosecute anyone making or spreading such material. Other parts of the law clamp down on trafficking and online porn targeting minors, placing fresh pressure on tech companies to clean up their act.
Advocacy Groups Turn Up the Heat
If you’re wondering why so many politicians suddenly care, advocacy groups have been working overtime. Enough Is Enough®, along with Issue One and over 60 allied organizations, put candidates on notice. Their pledge isn’t just about stopping the worst of the worst; they want whoever lands in the Oval Office to pick an Attorney General who will go after child exploitation and AI-generated CSAM with everything the Justice Department can muster. They’re also calling for more money and better tools for police and prosecutors who work child exploitation cases.
But here’s the twist: while activists are demanding action, neither Harris nor Trump has signed on to this pledge. Neither one has sworn to keep KOSA forever, but neither has promised to rip it up, either. Their noncommittal stance shows how political this bill has become. The pressure is on to support anything labeled as 'child safety,' even if there are growing concerns about how the law impacts privacy, free speech, and how platforms handle user data.
Leadership in Congress isn’t shying away. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and senior Republican John Thune have pushed the bill hard, uniting lawmakers in a rare moment of agreement. Bipartisan support is still the headline, because nobody wants to be painted as 'soft' on protecting kids online, especially with disturbing AI-generated content getting more sophisticated every year.
So, for parents, tech watchers, and privacy advocates, the 2024 presidential hopefuls are leaving everyone guessing. KOSA is here, but exactly how long and how strictly these rules stick around may depend on who wins in November—and just how much noise advocacy groups can make before then.
July 29 2025 0
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