BUFFALO, NY – LGBT Tech is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to digital equality and the LGBTQ+ community.
“The LGBTQ+ community has too few opportunities to search, feel and present safely in the real world. That’s why access to online spaces is so important and why we fight for it,” said Shae Gardner, director of policy at LGBT Tech.
According to the organization’s research, 64% of adults who identify as LGBTQ+ said they logged onto online platforms as minors. More than half said they specifically sought out community support, resources and information, and three-quarters said online spaces helped them learn more about their identities.
Gardner said this is even more important in the transgender community and for people experiencing multiple exclusions.
“For those who live in rural areas, who are low-income or who are non-white, access to online spaces to find people like them is doubly important,” she said.
LGBT Tech is part of a coalition with the American Civil Liberties Union and others opposing the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Gardner said the legislation, which would create the legal term “duty of care” requiring companies to prevent and mitigate “harm to children,” is well-intentioned but there is no consensus on what is inappropriate.
“The vagueness of those two terms allows for a completely subjective interpretation, and there are certain legislators in this country who have a very different definition of what is harmful to children than I do,” Gardner said. “Many think my identity is harmful to them.”
The ACLU said the bill was a clear violation of the First Amendment.
“The government could use this to censor everything from information about reproductive health care to content about LGBTQ people to content about guns,” said senior policy adviser Jenna Leventoff.
The U.S. Senate passed the bill late last month, but it has stalled in the House of Representatives. LGBT Tech said federal lawmakers should instead focus on digital literacy and comprehensive data protections.
“Privacy is the foundation we need to build on,” Gardner said. “It’s the floor, not the ceiling, and if we don’t have solid ground, the rest of this discussion about protecting people online becomes a balancing act.”
Another coalition is urging Congress to pass the law. Its more than 200 member organizations include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Eating Disorders Coalition and Mental Health America.
They point to research showing that social media can lead to bullying and risky behavior such as smoking and suicidal thoughts.
