House Commerce Committee members will discuss an updated version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) during a Dec. 2 subcommittee hearing, the committee said Tuesday.
Social Media
Social media platforms are facing intense scrutiny over how they collect, share and monetize user data. As new state and federal laws focus on age verification, parental controls and transparency requirements, social media companies face legal risks around algorithmic targeting, third-party tracking and children's safety. This page follows key legislation, investigations and lawsuits shaping privacy practices for major social platforms.
The Australian eSafety Commissioner launched an online social media age restrictions hub Friday to inform people of the minimum age law requirements taking effect Dec. 12.
NetChoice asked a federal court Friday to approve a preliminary injunction against a Virginia social media law amending the state's privacy statute. The motion comes just days after the trade association sued the state over the amendment, which would require that social media platforms conduct age verification and set a one-hour daily limit for users younger than 16, unless they obtain parental consent for more time (see 2511170060).
Several Senate Republicans and Democrats told us in interviews last week their stances on federal AI policy haven’t changed since the chamber voted 99-1 to block a proposed AI moratorium (see 2511200051).
Meta said it's happy with a $190 million settlement resolving a lawsuit alleging violations of user privacy in connection with the 2016 Cambridge Analytica scandal. Mark Zuckerberg and other current and former Meta senior executives agreed to pay, according to a news report Thursday.
The FBI doesn’t purchase “continuous or ‘real time’ location data from any phone, internet, or electronic service provider,” the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board said Thursday in a report on the bureau’s open source information practices.
The California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) has included a private right of action since it was established in 1967, and weakening this and other protections under the wiretapping statute would lead to abuse, said privacy experts Don Marti of the vendor Aloodo and Robert Tauler, an attorney, in an AdExchange op-ed Thursday.
Teens and parents in a small sample preferred parent-led, flexible and transparent design approaches to social media safety features over stricter, one-size-fits-all policies, particularly age verification, according to a report by the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) published Wednesday.
The California Privacy Protection Agency posted a flyer for businesses on fresh rules set to take effect Jan. 1 under the California Consumer Privacy Act. The agency reminded companies of new obligations related to risk assessments, sensitive kids’ data and requests to know, correct and opt out. It also posted about the changes on social media.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals grilled parties on what it means to be a content-based restriction when it comes to social media during a hearing Thursday in NetChoice v. Brown. The case centers on the constitutionality of SB-194, which requires social media companies to implement an age-assurance system to determine whether account users in Utah are minors (see 2505270050).