BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Kids Online Safety Act is not on the agenda before Congress wraps up the year.
Fairplay Executive Director Josh Golin said the leading nonprofit advocating for the legislation is not pleased with the decision.
"[Speaker Mike Johnson] committed today to tackling online safety in the beginning of the year but he also said that he was going to support KOSA this year so actions speak louder than words," Golin said.
Lawmakers have repeatedly revised the legislation. The latest version includes additional language-defining terms like reasonable care and reiterating the bill shall not infringe on the First Amendment.
"I never thought it infringed on anyone's free speech rights but now it has been clarified and clarified and clarified and clarified even more and now has the support of free speech advocates like Elon Musk," Golin said.
However, opposition said the revisions are largely cosmetic and still leaves language that could lead to censorship. Equality NY Executive Director Amanda Babine remained concerned social media platforms or policymakers could interpret LGBTQ+ content as inappropriate for children.
"They're really worried that they're going to be targeted and those ads that they use or just the way that they're interacting with their young people are going to be thrown out or young people are not going to be able to find them and those are really important life-saving resources," Babine said.
X Chairman Elon Musk, who President-elect Donald Trump plans to involve in his administration, endorsed the legislation earlier this month. However, Babine said Musk's past promotion of transphobic material as well as the viewpoints of others connected to Trump only increase concerns.
"Who is to say, if he is part of this process that he is not going to be defining harm in a different way than someone else," she said.
Golin insisted the bill is not to regulate content but rather the harmful and addictive features of social media like algorithms, notifications and autoplay.
"The tech industry has done a really good job of scaring well-intentioned into thinking this is some kind of mass censorship bill. It's really, really not," he said.
New York Attorney General Tish James signed a letter with 31 other AGs last month, urging Congress to pass the bill. She noted the federal government should still empower states to pass and enforce their own law.
James' office is currently working on propogating rules for NY's already-passed law. Babine pointed out, while James has been an ally to LGBTQ+ communities, her organization did oppose the state bill as well.