The kids act is the beginning of the end of digital freedom don't be fooled by what the serpents say
Welcome to 1984 - The Fingermen are Coming
There’s a quiet storm brewing in Washington, D.C. It’s not about war, not about inflation, not even about climate change — though all of those matter. No, this one cuts deeper. It strikes at the core of what we’ve long taken for granted: our right to speak, explore, and exist freely online. The bill in question? The Kids Online Safety Act — known as KOSA — and its shadow twin, COPPA 2.0.
On the surface, it sounds noble. Protect children online. Prevent exposure to harmful content. Shield young minds from predators, self-harm, and addiction. Who could argue with that?
Yes, I hear you. I’ve asked the same question.
But here’s what they’re not telling you: this is not about kids. This is about mass surveillance — under the guise of safety.
Time to Look Into the Mirror
Let’s be clear. I am a parent. I care deeply about what my child sees online. I install filters, I monitor screen time, I have conversations about digital responsibility. But I also understand the danger of handing over unchecked power to lawmakers — especially when those same lawmakers are the very people who’ve failed to regulate Big Tech for decades, who’ve taken campaign money from social media giants, and who now claim to be our digital saviors.
And some of them? They’re not just flawed. They’re compromised.
Did you know that some of the loudest advocates pushing KOSA have faced serious personal allegations — including, in at least one high-profile case, charges related to predatory behavior? The hypocrisy is staggering. We’re being asked to trust our children’s safety — and by extension, our digital freedom — to people whose moral authority is, at best, questionable.
And that should terrify every single one of us.
Living in a Comic Book — The Age of Lark Hill, in Reality
KOSA, as currently written, would force tech companies to scan private messages, analyze user behavior, and implement "duty of care" frameworks that hold platforms legally accountable for any content that might harm a user — especially minors. On paper, that sounds responsible. In practice, it’s a backdoor to unrelenting surveillance.
COPPA 2.0 takes it further. The original Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was designed to protect kids under 13. The updated version expands age verification across platforms — meaning websites, forums, social media, even encrypted messaging apps, could be forced to collect biometric data or government ID just to log in.
That is not child safety. That is a surveillance state.
Because once the infrastructure is built to track every minor online, guess what? It’s already built. And as history has shown — from the Patriot Act to facial recognition tech — tools created for "targeted" protection are almost always expanded to monitor everyone.
Privacy advocates have sounded the alarm. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has called KOSA “a solution in search of a problem” and warned it could “undermine end-to-end encryption and chill free expression.” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has stated that “well-intentioned laws must not become instruments of censorship or mass monitoring.”
The Fourth Amendment Is Being Completely Ignored
Let me say this plainly: No warrant. No probable cause. No due process. And yet we are hurtling toward a future where every online interaction — every search, every message, every like — could be monitored, stored, and potentially weaponized.
This isn’t speculative. This is already happening in other countries. China has its social credit system. Iran censors and tracks dissidents online. Russia uses digital surveillance to silence opposition. We call those regimes oppressive. But if we pass KOSA and COPPA 2.0 without critical reform, we’re paving the same road — just with better branding.
They’ll say: “If you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to hide.”
That argument has been used to justify every erosion of liberty in history.
I’m not hiding. I’m protecting — my right to think, to explore, to dissent. Because in a free society, privacy is not the absence of guilt. It’s the presence of liberty.
Time to Stand Up for What We Believe In
The Senate has already passed its version of KOSA. It’s now moving to the House of Representatives. This is our window — narrow, but real — to stop it.
Because make no mistake: This is not about protecting children. It's about control. It’s about creating a digital panopticon where every user is suspect, every conversation monitored, and every dissenting voice potentially flagged.
And it’s happening fast. Tech companies — the same ones we’ve blamed for the mess — are oddly quiet. Some even quietly support KOSA because it gives them legal cover and increases their power over user data. Republicans and Democrats alike are pushing it, wrapped in moral urgency, while ignoring the civil rights implications.
They say they move slowly. But they’re not — not when it comes to surveillance.
Do What We Need to Do to Stop These Wannabe High Chancellors
Enough waiting. Enough trusting.
Call your Representative. Email them. Flood their inboxes. Attend town halls. Demand they reject KOSA in its current form and strip out COPPA 2.0’s overreach.
Tell them: "I am a parent. I care about my child. But I will not trade my child’s future freedom for a false promise of safety."
Send letters. Organize with friends. Make noise. Because the moment we stay silent is the moment we surrender.
"The right to be let alone is the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men."
That right is under attack.
“Privacy is not an option, and it shouldn’t be the price we accept for just being online.”
He wasn’t wrong. He was prophetic.
Final Warning: Before You Lose Everything
They’re coming for our anonymity. They’re coming for our encryption. They’re coming for the open internet — the one place left where a teenager in a small town can research, question, and dream without being watched.
If we don’t stop them, we will lose it.
Not because we’re lazy. Not because we don’t care. But because we waited too long.
So do what you have to do. Be loud. Be relentless. Be the parent, the citizen, the human being who said: “No. Not here. Not now. Not on my watch.”
Because if we don’t stomp this now — before it becomes law — they’ll stomp on us.
The time to act is today.
Contact your member of Congress. Speak up. Protect your rights. Protect your children — not just from online harm, but from the real threat: a government that sees every citizen as a suspect.
Our freedom is not negotiable.
Stop KOSA. Stop COPPA 2.0. Stop the surveillance.
Thank you for reading. Now — I hope to see you on the 25th if you get the comic book reference you know exactly what I'm saying
