Moms for Liberty co-founder says Congress' latest bill to protect kids online has serious loophole

A caller bipartisan measure intended to shield children nether 13 from harmful contented connected societal media does not use to YouTube Kids, which parental rights advocates pass inactive feeds transgender ideology and DEI videos to minors. 

Parental rights advocates who spoke to Fox News Digital besides took contented with the bill, deemed the Kids Off Social Media Act, implicit its restrictions connected the algorithm, suggesting the measurement constitutes "government overreach." 

The measure was introduced by Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Katie Britt, R-Ala., and is expected to spell to mark-up connected Wednesday. In an online question-and-answer information sheet, Schatz's bureau said YouTube Kids does not acceptable the explanation of societal media nether the bill, nor bash video games and different platforms similar wireless messaging, acquisition platforms and teleconferencing. 

Upon visiting the YouTube Kids site, users are prompted to find whether they are a genitor oregon a child. It tells parents they indispensable acceptable up an relationship for their children and tin artifact videos oregon channels they bash not like. Among the contented disposable to children connected the tract are videos made by "queer" creators, including from the accounts Queer Kid Stuff, Nickelodeon and CBC Kids News, advocates note. Other fashionable videos halfway connected DEI, specified arsenic explaining "systemic racism" to children. 

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Social media applications are seen grouped connected a mobile device. (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"I don't deliberation that we should conscionable exclude apps from scrutiny due to the fact that they accidental kids successful them. You know, we're each acquainted with the alleged gender-affirming care, which isn't truly adjuvant oregon caring successful immoderate way. We've learned that, right? So the rubric of thing shouldn't conscionable allay our fears. I don't cognize wherefore YouTube Kids has been excluded," Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice told Fox News Digital. 

"What we person seen connected YouTube Kids, I've seen personally myself, is grounds of transgender ideology being fed to kids," she explained. "We cognize that trans activists person been targeting children. We cognize that determination are susceptible children who spot this content. They often volition click connected it. Sometimes the algorithm volition provender them much of that content. And truthful I deliberation it's precise concerning. I don't privation parents to conscionable say, this is meant for children and everything's okay." 

"We person ever said it, Moms for Liberty, we bash not co-parent with the government.," Justice said. "So I truly would similar to proceed to archer parents they request to beryllium involved. They request to beryllium the ones that are making those choices." 

"There's a tidal question of grounds barreling down connected the United States showing that alleged gender-affirming care is atrocious for children," she said, championing President Donald Trump's enforcement enactment to region DEI and sex ideology from classrooms. "We bash not privation our children indoctrinated, indoctrinated to deliberation that they were calved successful the incorrect body. This is simply a horrible message. Stopping the natural, steadfast improvement of children is criminal. And truthful the thought that you person a website that is feeding kids contented astir gender, ideology oregon DEI is highly concerning. And it is worrisome that possibly parents think, well, it's YouTube Kids, truthful it's safe." 

Reached by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for YouTube defended the YouTube Kids app but did not code the legislative connection directly.

"The YouTube Kids app puts parents successful the driver’s seat," the spokesperson said. "Parents tin take what their kids spot and what they don’t see. They person power implicit the contented their kids ticker and tin easy spell into the app to curate a database of allowed channels oregon artifact contented from their child’s illustration done the ‘approved contented only’ setting."

Meanwhile, Justice highlighted abstracted legislative measures introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to support children online, including 1 measure introduced past league that would necessitate property verification successful the app store. 

Lee is not listed arsenic a co-sponsor of the Kids Off Social Media Act, which would prohibit societal media platforms from allowing children nether the property of 13 to make oregon support societal media accounts, but does not see a parental consent provision. That measure would not necessitate users to contiguous a authorities ID to summation entree to societal media and alternatively requires societal media companies to usage information astir their users, including pictures they post, channels they travel oregon the day of commencement they necessitate upon sign-up to find if a kid is connected their platform. 

The YouTube Kids logo is seen displayed connected a mobile telephone screen. (Faisal Bashir/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

As for different facet of the Kids Off Social Media Act, Justice said she was acrophobic that the measure bans "algorithmic boosting" for children nether 17. Under the bill, societal media platforms would not beryllium capable to usage instrumentality learning to travel precisely however agelong children ticker posts and what they click connected to larn what makes each idiosyncratic kid enactment connected the level the longest. 

Schatz's bureau argued that societal media companies exploit kids for nett successful this way, but Justice said her main interest is the authorities controlling the algorithm. 

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"If your lad likes hockey, and it gives you much hockey information, well, I don't cognize that that would fuss me," Justice said, explaining that she met a chap ma who told her she goes connected her children's societal media accounts and "trains" the algorithm to propulsion up much blimpish governmental contented truthful that her teenagers are exposed to different position extracurricular mainstream media. 

"So I conscionable deliberation determination are a batch of questions astir who's controlling the algorithm," Justice said. "We cognize that determination are oftentimes truly unsafe contented that tin impact children's intelligence health. We person grounds of that. And truthful we privation to beryllium truly cautious astir however that algorithm is being used. And again, I conscionable don't cognize that I privation the authorities making those decisions for my family." 

Another parental rights advocate, Cat Parks, the erstwhile vice seat of the Texas GOP, told Fox News Digital that her superior interest with the Kids Off Social Media Act is that it "represents unnecessary authorities overreach successful an country wherever parents request to person eventual authority." Parks said the "real contented present is that it's parents who request to beryllium informed to beryllium capable to marque the close decisions for their children, not thing that's mandated by the government." 

"As a parent, I'm precise progressive successful my son's online beingness and o.k. what platforms that he's allowed to interact with. So what I don't want, I don't privation authorities to beryllium capable to portion my quality for my child's provender to beryllium personalized oregon for maine arsenic a genitor to take and marque the decisions astir what helium has entree to," Parks said.

A YouTube app logo is displayed connected an iPhone successful the Apple Store. (Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Justice argued that the onus is connected parents to shield their children from harmful content, and portion determination whitethorn beryllium a relation for authorities to play, "it's truly benignant of murky arsenic to what that relation is going to be." 

"We cognize that the algorithm is addicting," she said. "I cognize that it wants you to support scrolling and feeds you much accusation that it thinks that you'd beryllium funny in. It's conscionable a question of what is that accusation present – transgender ideology, sex ideology. We're moving to hitch it disconnected the look of the map. So, hopefully, that benignant of contented won't beryllium arsenic prevalent. But again, the bottommost enactment is parents request to beryllium active, engaged and progressive successful what their children are accessing online." 

"I don't privation the authorities to beryllium my kid's daddy," she added. "They person a father, and he's a large one, and we'll marque bully decisions for our kids together." 

Most apps have property restrictions, but Schatz's bureau cited a 2023 United Kingdom regulatory survey that recovered nearly 40% of children ages 8–12 inactive usage societal media platforms. 

In the question-and-answer document, Schatz's bureau besides said the measure "does not forestall LGBTQ+ younker from accessing applicable resources online." 

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"We person worked intimately with LGBTQ+ groups portion crafting this authorities to guarantee that this measure volition not negatively interaction this community," the information expanse said. "Under this bill, kids would inactive beryllium capable to affirmatively question retired contented and person that accusation displayed successful a chronological feed. Furthermore, this measure would not interaction entree to platforms specified arsenic websites tally by non-profits, nonstop messaging and teleconferencing services, and acquisition websites, among others."