Children's Privacy

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Virginia’s governor recently signed into law a bill that amends the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act. As revised, the law will include specific provisions impacting children’s use of social media. Unless contested, the changes will take effect January 1, 2026. Courts have struck down similar laws in other states (see our posts about those in Arkansas, California, and Utah) and thus opposition seems likely here as well. Of note, the social media laws that have been struck down in other states attempted to require parental consent before minors could use social media platforms. This law is different, as it allows account creation without parental consent. Instead, it places restrictions on account use for both minors and social media platforms.Continue Reading Virginia Will Add to Patchwork of Laws Governing Social Media and Children (For Now?) 

Arkansas’ second attempt at regulating minor’s access to social media – in the form of the Social Media Safety Act (SB 689) – has again been struck down as unconstitutional. The court permanently enjoined the state from enforcing the law. It was a modified version of Arkansas’ 2023 SB 396, that was also blocked. The plaintiff in both challenges was NetChoice, a group familiar to anyone following kids’ social media laws. As a result of NetChoice’s efforts, similar laws have been blocked in California, Utah, Maryland, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas. Courts in those states, as in Arkansas, found that the laws were unduly burdensome on free speech, with overly broad content restrictions not tailored to prevent harm to minors.Continue Reading Arkansas’ Kids Social Media Law: Another One Bites the Dust

Utah’s governor recently signed the first law which puts age restrictions on app downloads. The law (the App Store Accountability Act, SB 142), was signed yesterday (Wednesday, March 26, 2025). We anticipate that the law may be challenged, similar to NetChoice’s challenge to the Utah Social Media Regulation Act and other similar state laws.Continue Reading Utah Pioneers App Store Age Limits

The New York Attorney General recently entered into an assurance of discontinuance with Saturn Technologies, operator of an app used by high school and college students. The app was designed to be a social media platform that assists students with tracking their calendars and events. It also includes connection and social networking features and displayed students’ information to others. This included students’ location and club participation, among other things. According to the NYAG, the company had engaged in a series of acts that violated the state’s unfair and deceptive trade practice laws.Continue Reading New York AG Settles with School App

In the waning days of the Biden administration, the FTC published an update to its COPPA Privacy Rule. The status of this update, however, is unclear. The revisions to the rule were posted on the FTC website prior to the Trump administration, but had not yet been published in the Federal Register.Continue Reading FTC COPPA Rule Updates: On Hold?

The Ninth Circuit continued the pause on California’s SB 976 (Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act) as of late January 2025. The law was signed by Governor Newsom in September 2024, and challenged by NetChoice shortly thereafter.Continue Reading California’s Kids’ Social Media Law Wrangling Continues, and Maryland Too!

The Colorado AG’s office adopted draft amendments to the Colorado Privacy Act rules last month. The adopted draft reflected input from the public to AG’s September 2024 version and addresses three key issues. First, on opinion letters and interpretive guidance from the AG. Second, changes resulting from the passage of a bill related to biometric (HB 24-1130) data. And third, a bill related to children’s (SB 24-041) privacy. (Both of which amend Colorado’s privacy law.)Continue Reading Colorado Rolls Out Updated Privacy Rules Ahead of 2025 CPA Amendments

The United Kingdom and the United States released a joint statement last month outlining plans focused on children’s online privacy. As indicated in the statement, they intend to engage national institutions and other organizations to support this work. They will also be forming a joint online safety working group.Continue Reading UK and US Issue Joint Statement on Children’s Privacy

Regulations impacting children’s use of social media continues to be a space in motion the past few months. There have been developments at both the state level, as well as with the FTC. And there is no sign of slowing down. In this article we give a roundup of some recent developments worth keeping in mind.Continue Reading #StatusUpdate on Social Media, Apps, and Children’s Privacy

California has been active in the kids space. First, the Ninth Circuit’s recently ruled on the California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act. Second, the governor has just signed a new law aimed at social media sites.Continue Reading California: Age-Appropriate Design Code Act Partially Blocked, New Social Media Law Signed

The New York Attorney General’s office and the UK Information Commissioner’s Office were busy last month when it came to children’s privacy. Both sought input from the public about regulating children’s online privacy, including on social media.Continue Reading Regulators On Both Sides of the Pond Seek Input on Children’s Privacy