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
Oregon’s Attorney General released a new report this month, summarizing the outcomes since Oregon’s “comprehensive” privacy law took effect six months ago. A six-month report isn’t new: Connecticut released a six month report in February of last year to assess how consumers and businesses were responding to its privacy law.Continue Reading Oregon’s Privacy Law: Six Month Update, With Six Months to End of Cure Period
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
Starting April 3, Ohio hospitals will have to navigate new requirements under House Bill 173. This law mandates greater transparency in healthcare pricing. It also includes rules for selling or targeted advertising related to personal information hospitals collect from price estimator tools (discussed in more detail below). The law applies to hospitals in Ohio, which is any facility providing inpatient medical services for periods longer than twenty-four hours.Continue Reading New Ohio Transparency Pricing Rules for Hospitals Comes with Limits to Targeted Advertising
The Federal Trade Commission recently requested public comment from users of tech platforms. In particular, the impact the platforms may have on user speech. Input is sought -by May 21- on the extent to which tech firms are engaging in potentially suppressing free speech.Continue Reading FTC Requests Input from Tech Platform Users About Speech
Update: On April 22, 2025 the FTC published the COPPA Rule amendments in the federal register. This post has been modified to reflect the most current status.Continue Reading FTC COPPA Rule Updates: On Hold?
The Oregon AG’s Office, along with the state’s Department of Justice, issued guidance late last year on how state laws apply to the ways businesses use AI. The guidance may be two months old, but the cautions are still timely. The guidance seeks to give companies direction on times when AI uses might be regulated by existing state laws.Continue Reading Oregon’s AI Guidance: Old Laws in Scope for New AI
The New Jersey AG and the Division on Civil Rights’ new guidance on algorithmic discrimination explains how AI tools might be used in ways that violate the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The law applies to employers in New Jersey, and some of its requirements overlap with new state “comprehensive” privacy laws. In particular, those laws’ requirements on automated decisionmaking. Those laws, however, typically do not apply in an employment context (with the exception of California). This New Jersey guidance (which mirrors what we are seeing in other states) is a reminder that privacy practitioners should keep in mind AI discrimination beyond the consumer context.Continue Reading New Jersey Discrimination Law Guide: Applicability of Existing Laws to AI Tools
The California privacy regulator recently settled with a data broker (Key Marketing Advantage LLC) that it alleged had violated the state’s data broker law. Under the Delete Act, data brokers must, among other things, register annually by January 31 and pay an annual fee. According to the agency, the company failed to register or pay the fee. The broker agreed to pay $55,800 as part of the settlement.Continue Reading New Year, Old Tradition: CPPA Focuses on Unregistered Data Brokers
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!