The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released its official score for the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), and according to the report, the bill’s price tag is practically pocket change: just $4 million over five years.
CBO concludes that the bill’s mandates would impose only “small” costs on tech companies—because, supposedly, platforms already do what the bill requires.
Let’s be clear: asking a user to click “Yes, I’m 13” is not the same as being legally required to know their age—or face civil penalties if you don’t. Voluntary terms of service aren’t enforced by the federal government. KOSMA is. That changes everything.
Once companies become liable for “knowing” whether a user is underage, asking questions of users won’t cut it. They’ll need to verify the information they’re given is correct. That means government-issued IDs, facial scans, third-party authentication and massive amounts of personal data collected and stored—just to access constitutionally protected speech.
We’ve seen this bait-and-switch before. States make similar claims: “Don’t worry, companies already do this.” Then come the lawsuits, the takedowns, the lockouts—and all of a sudden, Americans—teens and adults alike—wouldn’t be able to access health information, connect with friends, explore religious content or access political speech without handing over extensive private documentation.
There’s a difference between estimating fiscal cost and the costs for businesses, even before we start measuring constitutional harm. Just because a bill doesn’t drain the federal budget doesn’t mean it’s harmless and cost-free. There is a very real cost to undermining First Amendment rights.
Indeed, as the Court recently said in NetChoice v. Griffin, our case protecting free speech online in Arkansas:
“No legal remedy exists to compensate [people] for the loss of their First Amendment rights.”
KOSMA may be cheap in government dollars, but it’s wildly expensive for platforms and for Americans’ free expression.
That’s a cost Congress can’t afford to ignore.