What would you give up to keep kids safe online: your driver’s license, privacy, and freedom?
That’s the question at the center of new internet safety laws sweeping across the globe, with Tennessee at the center of America’s version of the debate.
Many can agree that online safety for children is essential. We live in a time when children are exposed to the internet at younger and younger ages. Schools now rely heavily on digital platforms such as Google Classroom and Blackboard, while many parents hand tablets or phones to their kids for entertainment instead of allowing them to be bored. Children are exposed to the internet and ways to use it before truly knowing the possible risks.
So, how do we keep kids safe in a digital world?
Many experts believe parents should take full responsibility for implementing parental controls, content filters and safety locks. My parents did that as I grew up in the rising social media landscape. They conducted random phone checks and had access to all my social media and app logins.
Increasingly, though, governments are taking on that role by writing laws that dictate how children can be protected online.
This past July, the United Kingdom came under fire for its new Online Safety Act (SOA), a sweeping law requiring platforms to protect children from harmful content. Instead of placing responsibility squarely on parents, the law compels websites and apps to block or restrict access. Platforms that do not comply face massive fines or could even be blocked in the UK
The ripple effects are already being felt beyond Britain.
Apps like YouTube and Spotify have begun deploying stricter age-verification systems, sometimes requiring users to upload government-issued IDs, biometric scans or credit card verifications to access certain features. Other apps include Reddit, Bluesky, Discord and X.
These measures may limit underage access but also raise pressing questions about privacy. When users must provide sensitive data, the threat of data misuse or breaches looms large.
A concerning fact about uploading your ID to a ‘secure’ server is data breaches. America had 3,158 breaches in 2024, with a major breach happening just over a month ago.
The popular Tea app had users upload their ID to keep the app secure, but it was later revealed that the data was being used to hack and steal the identities of women all across the country who were looking for a safe place to vent.
Similar legislation to SOA is brewing in the United States. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., alongside Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; John Thune, R-S.D.; and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) in May 2025.
The bill would require platforms to adopt a “duty of care” toward minors. This would include safeguards such as stronger default privacy settings, options to disable addictive features, parental controls, allowing minors to delete their data and transparency reports and audits.
Importantly, unlike UK law, KOSA does not require age verification or mandate collecting IDs or biometric data.
The bill enjoys bipartisan backing and support from major tech players like Apple, Microsoft, Snap and X (formerly Twitter)—though opposition remains in the House over censorship and First Amendment concerns.
If passed, KOSA could introduce protective structures that benefit minors without forcing invasive ID checks. However, the UK’s example reveals how governments driven by good intentions can facilitate excessive surveillance.
For Tennesseans, the debate hits especially close to home. With Blackburn spearheading KOSA and officially entering the upcoming governor’s race, the law could become a major aspect of her campaign.
My question is, what are lawmakers getting if this bill passes? Most Americans know that it is very hard to get both parties to agree on something. So what exactly could these politicians be getting for passing this legislation?
Groups such as Fight for the Future (FOTF) are actively fighting against this new legislation. This group is fighting back against not only this legislation but also the added verifications that have been pushed in the past decade, such as facial recognition software, online ID checks and fighting to keep DMs safe with end-to-end encryption.
This group points out many things wrong with this bill, such as putting pressure on social media platforms to erase content that lawmakers deem inappropriate for minors and ramping up online surveillance of all internet users by expanding the already long list of websites that are being forced to use age verification systems.
Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson warned in a letter that these laws could violate U.S. privacy and free speech protections. He noted that tech companies may adopt content moderation or data security policies to meet foreign legal requirements, which could infringe on U.S. consumers’ privacy, data security and free expression.
Critics also argue these laws disproportionately harm adults. VPNs became the most downloaded apps immediately after new age-verification laws went into effect. Users have also reported censorship, restricted access to news and flagging of memes.
The real question is not just how to keep children safe online — it is who decides where the line is drawn and how much privacy society is willing to surrender in the name of safety.
Are people truly comfortable uploading IDs to servers they may never hear about again, not knowing how that data will be used?
There are less invasive ways to keep children safe online. Many companies now sell kid-specific tablets and phones that offer only certain apps and send alerts to parents when certain activities occur, such as wanting to download a new app or seeing messages that are flagged as potentially harmful.
We live in the most technologically advanced society the world has seen, yet we often approach these issues as if they were the 1960s. Parents must step up and be willing to play the “bad guy” sometimes to keep their children safe, rather than leave the task to government regulation.
It is perfectly acceptable to want to be your child’s best friend, but there comes a point when you have to push aside that desire and become a parent. One of the worst things we can do is as a society with children is be negligent to them with the internet.
