The Woolf Group’s Post

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) was announced with updated language this week—with a whopping 62 senate co-sponsors!   Both Republicans and Democrats are standing united on this crucial bill to protect our children.    This is the first time in 25 years that an online child protection bill has such strong momentum to reach the Senate Floor. And YOU made it happen!    Thank you so much to those of you who contacted your legislators, supported our work financially, or otherwise partnered with us in advocating for this common-sense safety measure. This milestone achievement would never have happened without you.   The next step is to get KOSA to the Senate Floor! Please use your powerful voice one more time and contact your Senators to urge Leader Schumer to bring KOSA to the floor for a vote—it really does make a difference! ACTION: Urge the Senate to Pass KOSA!  Take Action! What does KOSA Do?    KOSA requires tech platforms to be designed with safety features ON by default for children. It also establishes a "duty of care" to ensure that platforms responsibly design their products in a manner that is safe for children. The new version of the bill that was introduced this week includes revisions inspired by feedback from marginalized communities and other key stakeholders.   This bill will go a long way in protecting children—especially marginalized and vulnerable children—from rampant online harms like child sexual exploitation, suicide instruction, harassment, eating disorder content, and more.https://https://lnkd.in/gUh_YgzV

We welcome the UK’s online safety regulator Ofcom's proposals to protect kids from online harms. Ofcom's proposals to safeguard children online are a step in the right direction, but space for ambition remains. Together with 20 other organizations, we signed 5Rights' letter asking Ofcom to deploy proactive, effective regulation that makes the internet safer kids. Read full letter👇 https://lnkd.in/eX-cHYjf #OnlineSafety #ProtectingKidsOnline #Regulation #SocialMedia

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is gaining bipartisan support and could soon revolutionize how we protect children online. From reducing cyberbullying to preventing exposure to harmful content, this bill aims to create safer digital spaces for our kids. Learn more about its potential impact and challenges: https://lnkd.in/ehYjSzUZ

Further federal-wide children's privacy protections have just come a step closer, as the US Senate has reached over 60 Senators co-sponsoring the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) - a key threshold for it to pass. KOSA would apply to children under 13 years of age (similarly to the federal COPPA) and require online platforms, messaging applications or other online services to "exercise reasonable care" to prevent and mitigate harm to children, such as by introducing safeguards: - Limiting the ability of other users to view the child's personal data - Allowing minors to opt-out of content recommended to children - Restricting the sharing of geolocation data of children - Explaining why minors are being shown targeted adverts Platforms should ensure that several of these controls can be exercised by the minor's parent or guardian. KOSA still has a long way to go to pass, but these obligations go much further than the obligations against unnecessary data collection or sharing under COPPA. #childrensrights #personaldata #uslaw https://lnkd.in/ec5h_7Ng.

TEENS are advocating for stronger online protections. Last week, the youth coalition Design It For Us urged lawmakers to strengthen the Kids Online Safety Act after key provisions were weakened. Despite these changes, young advocates continue to push for better safeguards against harmful social media practices. It's remarkable that teens are leading this fight for safety - a priority that should extend to all of us. ➡ https://lnkd.in/gP7R6ajR #YouthAdvocacy #OnlineSafety #Tech2Protect

It is great to see the word getting out that Big Tech is using the divide, delay, destroy strategy to kill the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). House leadership must not fall for this blatant misinformation campaign; the Senate did not and passed the legislation 91-3. If the House leadership kills the bill, then we know precisely who they answer to, and it is not to the thousands of parents and children harmed by the conduct of big tech and the design decisions they have made. I have greater faith that at the end of the day, the House leadership will do the right and moral thing, pass a KOSA bill that includes the "duty of care" provision, and finally hold big tech accountable for their actions. If you feel the same way, please ensure House leadership hears your voice. Dial #250 on your mobile device, say the key phrase, "Online Child Safety," and be connected to Majority Leader Scalese and Speaker Johnson. Ask them to stand up to big tech and bring KOSA to the House floor for a vote. Big Tech mounts ‘divide and conquer’ bid in Washington to kill Kids Online Safety Act: sources  https://lnkd.in/ejaWXvw7 #passkosa #kosa #kidsonlinesafety #bigtech #dutyofcare #protectkids

#UNODC Calls for Prioritizing #Children in #Online #Safety Initiatives "What can we do about #online #child #protection?  What measures should we take to ensure that the #cyberspace is a safe and protective environment for #children? 'It's never too late to take action, reassess our strategies, and focus on impactful solutions,” states Alexandra Martins, Leader of the UNODC's End Violence Against Children (ENDVAC) team as she opens a discussion on the critical need for proactive measures to empower and protect children in the online sphere. #AIMCnews #ParentalitéNumerique #DigitalParenting #OnlineChildSafety #InternetDangers #tech

The US Senate has passed the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act #KOSPA, the 1st significant online child safety bill in decades.🎉 This is a huge step towards ensuring children are #SafeOnline. Now we wait on the House to #BeBrave and take action. Together we can and must #EndChildhoodSexualViolence Learn more👉 bit.ly/4dmAxd3

Understandable scepticism from Rachel Burden on BBC Radio 5 Live breakfast this morning about how facial #ageestimation (FAE) can be so accurate at estimating the age of eg 16 year olds & from some listeners thinking it will be easy to spoof. According to US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Yoti FAE is the most accurate FAE at estimating the age of 13-16 year olds. Age Check Certification Scheme, who the Australian Govt has just awarded the lead role in the upcoming Australian Age Assurance trials , recently certified Yoti’s FAE model as having a mean absolute error of just over 1 year when estimating a diverse group of male & female 18 year olds. Yoti’s own internally measured & published MAE for 16 year olds is 0.9 years when tested on a diverse set of 10,283 anonymised faces with verified age. So it’s easy for 100% of adults to use FAE to prove they’re over 13. We estimate 88% of 16 year olds to be 15, 16 or 17. Over the last 6 years, We’ve done over 700 million privacy preserving age checks for some of the world’s biggest social media, vaping, gaming, adult content (porn) and dating brrands. Every single images was instantly deleted once the age was estimated. It’s very difficult for a young child or teenager to spoof / trick Yoti FAE by presenting photos of adults, or even smart techy teens to beat our service with injection attacks. An older person could set up a proxy account for their younger brother, sister or friend but it’s simple for the business to do a surprise FAE age check which the under age user will fail, or choose not to do which should lead to account suspension. Understandably no-one sounds dumb claiming some kids will be able to get round some laws including age verification, but over time it will become clear to a very wide audience that beating world class FAE is very difficult. Lots more independent testing of FAE to come over coming weeks & momths, including the Australian age assurance trials after which it will be hard credibly to doubt the accuracy of world class FAE.

❔ What is the Online Safety Act? "It's a new UK law which places legal obligations on tech companies to prevent and rapidly remove illegal content, including child sexual exploitation and abuse. The Act also #prevents children from seeing material that is harmful to them. The Act identifies Ofcom as the regulator, which will assess whether companies are fulfilling their #safety duties under the Act." ❔ How were #children’s views and experiences included in the law-making process? "The UK Government engaged extensively with a wide variety of stakeholders throughout development of the Act. This included regular engagement with children’s charities and the Children's Commissioner for England, to ensure that the voices and needs of children are represented. and the strongest protections for children were at the heart of the legislation." ❔ How will the Online Safety Act align with the #international response to child sexual exploitation and abuse online? "No country can comprehensively tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse alone and international cooperation is vital. The UK is independently recognised as a global leader in our efforts to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse through the recent Out of the Shadows Index. They remain committed to continuing close collaboration with international partners, including Five Country and G7 partners, to establish common global standards, share #bestpractice and #insights, and build international capacity to combat this horrific crime." The UK Government’s #OnlineSafetyAct 2023 is just one example of how our Government members are responding to keep children #safe online. The Act places legal obligations on tech companies to prevent and rapidly remove illegal content, including child sexual exploitation and abuse. Read more from WeProtect Global Alliance's briefing for more details ⬇️ https://loom.ly/eiKQTis Connect with us, and stay updated by #following us on LinkedIn and X/Twitter! Thank you 🙏 #onlinesafety #safeonline #legistation #childprotection #onlinechildprotection Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) NSPCC Safe Online