State bills on child online safety received key committee OKs in several states this week. Kids privacy has been a focus for state legislatures this year (see 2501170053).
A federal judge for the U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia on Thursday granted class-action status to a plaintiff who alleged that health and medical corporation WebMD violated the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by disclosing video-viewing information to Meta Platforms. WebMD had argued that class certification should not be granted because the proposed class is not adequately defined or ascertainable and that individual privacy settings impede the commonality requirement.
The Virginia legislature passed kids social media and student privacy bills on Thursday. The Senate voted 39-0 to agree with House substitutes on SB-854 and SB-1486. The House voted 97-0 and 98-0, respectively, for the bills earlier that day.
The U.S. District Court of Montana ordered a stay of proceedings in a case about the state’s attempt at banning TikTok Wednesday, after the parties jointly moved for the motion.
The South Carolina House passed a kids social media bill requiring age verification Thursday. Members voted 89-14 to send H-3431 to the Senate.
NetChoice renewed its motion to stay district court proceedings Tuesday in a case about California’s SB-976, a social media law that the association alleges undermines free speech and privacy principles and leaves Californians at risk of data breaches and identity theft (see 2501060009).
Industry can’t figure out a constitutional way to word a kids’ privacy bill, a TechNet official said at a Washington state legislative hearing Tuesday.
Connecticut’s age-verification bill includes only minor changes from current state privacy and social media regulations, Sen. James Maroney (D) said Wednesday.
The Oklahoma House Children Committee voted 6-0 to approve a bill setting privacy rules for kids at a hearing Wednesday.
The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) on Tuesday opposed a motion by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) to dismiss a challenge to a kids social media bill. CCIA said Moody’s objections are meritless and focus more on the way the complaint is organized, rather than its content.