Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey (D) raised privacy concerns Monday concerning a social media bill requiring age verification. Maine’s joint Judiciary Committee received testimony on LD-844, which would require age verification and ban accounts for kids younger than 14, while allowing them for 14- and 15-year-olds with parental consent (see 2503060022).
The Massachusetts Senate will try to reach consensus on comprehensive privacy legislation this spring, two state senators told us. Privacy Daily has counted eight comprehensive privacy bills so far in the Massachusetts legislature, with four apiece in the House and the Senate.
The Vermont House Commerce Committee split 7-4 Friday to advance a bill (H-342) that echoes New Jersey’s Daniel’s Law. Supporting the bill in a livestreamed hearing prior to the vote, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark (D) said the lesson from New Jersey is that it’s “a pretty good bill that's defensible in court.”
Ever-increasing data protection requirements around the world are keeping privacy professionals on the edge of their seats, said officials from Stripe, HP and Bank of America during a BigID compliance webinar Thursday.
As the Vermont Senate Institutions Committee cleared a comprehensive privacy bill (S-71) in a 5-0 vote Friday, Chair Wendy Harrison (D) reminded colleagues that the legislature is in the “middle of the process.” A day earlier, the panel replaced the legislation's language with that of an industry-favored bill (S-93), which consumer privacy advocates have called weak (see 2503130053).
Google slammed Meta this week for supporting state bills requiring app stores to verify users’ ages. However, an advocacy group for children online rejected the idea of a single best way to verify ages.
Vermont House Judiciary Chair Martin LaLonde (D) plans on sharing multiple concerns with a bill that echoes New Jersey’s Daniel’s Law with the Commerce Committee, he said at a Judiciary meeting livestreamed Wednesday. Judiciary will punt H-342 to Commerce after hearing testimony on the measure Tuesday (see 2503110077), he said.
Vermont senators shouldn’t let Big Tech convince them to "pass their favored model of privacy legislation in lieu of stronger protections” like S-71, said a Consumer Reports (CR) official Wednesday at a livestreamed meeting.
Vermont Republicans objected to an age-appropriate design code bill (S-69) on the Senate floor Wednesday. State senators voted 25-5 to amend the bill as previously recommended by the Institutions Committee, and then voted by voice to move the bill to a third reading. That action procedurally sets up a final vote, expected Thursday.
Honda agreed to pay $632,500 and change various privacy practices as part of a settlement with the California Privacy Protection Agency announced Wednesday. The CPPA board decided Friday to approve a settlement resolving the privacy agency's claims that the car manufacturer’s North American subsidiary violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The significant order shows the agency ramping up enforcement of the CPPA, said privacy attorneys.