The California legislature passed two bills on AI chatbots Thursday. Nearing the finish line are bills on automated decisions by employers and social media warning labels. The legislature passed measures earlier in the day on universal opt-out preference signals, data brokers and social media data deletion (see 2509110066).
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.
Regulating AI should center on limiting the technology's potential risks, labor representatives and other advocates said during a session of the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity. At a hearing Thursday, they said their goal includes protecting state residents from AI's possible harms while also letting them reap its benefits.
Colorado is right to craft a knowledge standard to hold companies accountable for willfully ignoring user age in its draft kids privacy rules, consumer groups said in comments due Sept. 5 (see 2509100045).
The California legislature passed a bill Thursday to require web browser support for universal opt-out preference signals (OOPS). Also, at our deadline, a California bill adding requirements for data brokers had enough votes to pass the legislature, though the tally wasn’t final. On Wednesday, the state legislature also passed a bill on social media account cancellations.
Bluesky will comply with kids online safety laws in Wyoming and South Dakota, unlike in Mississippi, the social media platform said Wednesday. “Bluesky will remain available to users in these states, and we will not need to restrict the app for everyone.”
California state senators unanimously supported a bill Tuesday on social media account deletions, which, due to a Senate amendment, also requires platforms to treat such cancellations as California Consumer Privacy Act requests to delete users’ personal information (see 2509050003). The Senate voted 39-0 to pass AB-656. The Assembly next must concur with the Senate's changes to the bill.
Australia published six industry-developed codes to protect children from harmful and age-inappropriate content and "represent a significant lift of the industry’s responsibilities under Australia’s Online Safety Act," eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Tuesday.
Whistleblower claims about Meta enabling child privacy violations and abuse on its platforms are “nonsense,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans and Democrats during a Senate Privacy Subcommittee hearing Tuesday called on fellow lawmakers to continue addressing child-safety issues on social media platforms.
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.