A Massachusetts bill about employers’ use of electronic monitoring and automated decisions advanced in the state Senate this week. The Internet Committee approved and sent S-35 to the Ways and Means Committee on Thursday. The panel also cleared a social media accountability bill (see 2510160046).
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.
Whether age-gating measures truly protect children online or just raise other legal concerns is unclear, speakers said during Hogan Lovells' The Data Chronicles podcast Thursday, which focused on age assurance in the U.S. and U.K.
State lawmakers and tech industry stakeholders are seeking clarity on DOJ's August examination of “adverse” state regulations, an inquiry seen as broad and so far undefined.
Massachusetts would create a social media transparency and accountability office under a bill advanced Thursday by the Senate Internet Committee. S-51 will go next to Senate Ways and Means.
Biometric information is the most personal information, but it holds benefits for society as long as there are guardrails against its risks, New Zealand officials from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner said Wednesday during an IAPP webinar. The discussion included social media bans for children and AI regulation.
Nearly one-third of French people in a 2024 survey said they have been confronted on social media with content from people who have died, and half said they would prefer that data on social networks be deleted after their death, French DPA CNIL said Wednesday.
Several consumer advocates criticized an Ohio law requiring websites targeting children younger than 18 to obtain parental consent before engaging in contracts with minors. In amicus briefs Friday, the groups alleged that its age-verification requirement poses privacy risks and the law violates the First Amendment. They asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to join the district court in blocking the Ohio Social Media Parental Notification Act.
Privacy Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching the title or clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Australian Information Commissioner advised taking a privacy-by-design approach in guidance for conducting age assurance under a social media kids ban taking effect Dec. 10.
More than 30 state attorneys general on Friday filed a brief with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supporting Tennessee’s age-verification law.