An Ohio state representative questioned Google’s intentions for supporting an age-verification bill (HB-302) at a House Judiciary Committee hearing livestreamed Wednesday.
The recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to block Mississippi’s social-media law from taking effect (see 2508140048) means that a similar Tennessee law should not be blocked, either, argued Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti (R) on Friday.
The head of a tech association blamed age-verification mandates for a Discord data breach Sept. 20 that exposed the personal information and some government ID images of its users.
A Georgia law that would require age verification and parental consent for minors to create social media accounts is not content-based nor does it violate the First Amendment, said a bipartisan coalition of 31 states in an amicus brief Wednesday at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The U.K. government has no plans to ban virtual private networks (VPNs) despite a surge in users downloading them to circumvent age verification and estimation rules under the Online Safety Act (OSA), a government spokesperson said.
Ohio senators on Tuesday weighed whether a bill requiring age verification at the app store level, or one that features age verification by app stores and developers, would better protect kids online.
Social media platform Imgur's move that restricts access to U.K. users was "ia commercial decision taken by the company," the ICO said in a statement Tuesday.
A federal appeals court should affirm a lower court’s decision and block Florida’s social media ban on children because it violates the First Amendment, the American Civil Liberties Union and consumer groups said in a filing Friday, siding with the tech industry (see 2509120040). The groups also highlighted privacy concerns related to age verification (docket 25-11881).
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.