State fervor for child online safety bills continued apace this week. Wyoming and Utah approved age-verification measures, while several states advanced bills or introduced them. Kids privacy and online safety have been a major focus for state legislatures this year (see 2502250017 and 2501170053). Accordingly, Privacy Daily is tracking more than 100 of these bills across the country (see map).
After a contentious hearing last week on a New Mexico comprehensive privacy bill, the sponsor presented an amended version of the legislation to the House Commerce Committee at a Monday meeting. The panel cleared the bill 9-0.
Washington state bills requiring privacy and AI transparency are apparently dead after missing a Friday cutoff to clear fiscal committees in the legislature. However, child privacy bills in the House and Senate cleared their respective fiscal committees in time.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on Thursday introduced legislation that would repeal several statutory requirements for reporting personal financial data.
Maryland should create an AI working group instead of passing high-risk AI legislation modeled after Virginia’s potential AI law, tech industry representatives told Maryland’s Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.
Vermont Rep. Monique Priestley (D) criticized a comprehensive privacy bill introduced Thursday in the state Senate. Sen. Thomas Chittenden (D) introduced S-93 on the same day that the Senate Institutions Committee started walking through the Senate version (S-71) of Priestley’s previously introduced H-208, which also seeks a broad data privacy law (see 2502130013).
Nine people testified in opposition to New Mexico’s proposed Consumer Information and Data Protection Act during a bill hearing Wednesday, arguing that the comprehensive privacy bill doesn't protect minority groups and provides exemptions for large corporations. Despite two business groups testifying in favor of the bill, House Commerce Committee Chair Doreen Gallegos (D) delayed a vote until a later date.
A video games industry lobbyist raised questions Thursday about Meta’s involvement in an Alabama child online safety bill requiring app stores to check users’ ages. However, at a livestreamed hearing, the Alabama Senate Children Committee supported SB-187, an app store age-verification bill spotted in several other states including Utah. The panel also cleared SB-186, requiring that phone and tablet manufacturers activate internet filters by default to protect kids.
While AI practices continue to raise privacy concerns, privacy laws may create a pathway for AI regulation, said Clark Hill privacy attorney Myriah Jaworski in a Tuesday webinar about the rise of AI liability.
House Commerce Committee Republicans on Friday requested public input on potential federal privacy legislation. The elimination of a private right of action, preemption of state privacy and AI laws and conflicts with existing federal law were among the topics Republicans outlined in their request for information (RFI).