Congress should think twice about moving ahead with the proposed Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), the Software & Information Industry Association said in a policy post Thursday. “As Congress searches for solutions, it’s critical that leaders consider the unintended consequences of sweeping privacy legislation and work toward protections that truly keep kids safe.”
The Australian eSafety Commissioner published regulatory guidance Tuesday to help social media companies comply with the country's new minimum age law requirements, which take effect Dec. 10.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (D) filed two lawsuits Monday against pornographic websites that the state said are in violation of its age-verification laws. The state said defendants "failed to implement the safeguards required to verify users’ ages before granting access to pornographic material."
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Monday for the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, which was signed into law in June 2024 (see 2406070065). The proposed rules offer advice for social media companies about how they should restrict their platforms' addictive features to avoid harming the mental health of children.
The California legislature passed two laws about artificial intelligence and automated decision systems on Friday, the last day for legislators to pass bills. In addition, it approved a measure on age-verification signals. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has until Oct. 12 to sign or veto the bills.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed to stand most of a California law that makes it illegal for internet-based services and applications to provide an addictive feed to users younger than 18, unless the operator doesn't know the user is a minor.
Safety by design is the core element to ensuring kids remain safe online while also protecting their privacy and rights, a Public Knowledge paper argues (see 2509050046). More research is needed concerning tangible harms, panelists said during a discussion Monday about the paper.
Age assurance can be a crucial step in online safety for children, so long as it’s done carefully and in a privacy-preserving way, said experts during a Public Knowledge event Monday. However, they warned that age assurance should be part of a larger response.
Though using age assurance to access certain online platforms and websites is the route policymakers frequently take hoping to protect children online, it can end up doing more harm than good, multiple privacy organizations said in recent papers and blog posts.
Age-estimation technology and its role in reducing regulatory burden is gaining attention in industry and data privacy circles, an official with BBB National Programs said Friday.