Democrats and consumer privacy advocates raised concerns Wednesday that a Georgia comprehensive privacy bill won’t adequately protect consumers, in part because it lacks a private right of action. At a livestreamed hearing Wednesday, the House Technology Committee considered SB-111, which the Senate passed on a bipartisan basis last week (see 2503040026). The bill is based on Virginia’s data protection statute and includes several exemptions (see 2502060057).
A West Virginia comprehensive privacy bill cleared the House Energy Committee at a livestreamed markup Tuesday. Without any discussion, members voted by voice to send HB-2987 to the Judiciary Committee.
A kids online safety bill passed the Arkansas House in a 92-2 vote Monday. The Senate received HB-1726 and referred it to the Judiciary Committee later in the day. The committee scheduled a hearing on the bill for Wednesday at 10 a.m. CT.
NetChoice filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Middle Louisiana against Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) over an act that would require age verification before a user could access social media platforms. The action Tuesday alleges the legislation violates the First Amendment and poses a serious threat to online safety and cybersecurity.
Google’s “feckless alternative” to the Utah App Store Accountability Act “would enable Google to do as little as possible,” the Digital Childhood Alliance said in a blog post expected to be published Monday.
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).
Kentucky tweaked its comprehensive privacy law to flesh out an exemption for data subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed the amendment (HB-473) to the 2024 privacy law Saturday after it passed the legislature unanimously (see 2503130017).
A Maryland bill that would establish a chief data officer for the state passed the House in a unanimous 139-0 vote Thursday and now crosses over to the Senate. It was sponsored by Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D) at the request of the Department of Informational Technology.
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.”
The Vermont Senate passed its age-appropriate design code legislation (S-69) Thursday by voice vote. It still needs approval from the House. Some Republicans objected to the bill during debate Wednesday (see 2503120045).