New technologies such as the use of pixels have led to a surge -- beginning in 2022 -- of litigation involving older privacy laws because newer legislation lacks a private right of action, privacy lawyers said during a webinar Wednesday.
A kids social media bill requiring age verification cleared the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee with an amendment in a 10-1 vote at a livestreamed hearing Wednesday. The bill would prohibit kids 15 years old and younger from accessing social media unless they have parental permission.
Bipartisan, bicameral legislation filed Tuesday seeks a 270-day delay for ByteDance’s Jan. 19 deadline to divest TikTok (see 2501100058). Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; and Cory Booker, D-N.J., along with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act. “The TikTok ban was rushed through without sufficient consideration of the profound consequences it would have on the 170 million Americans who use the platform,” said Markey. The bill “is a straightforward, one-sentence bill designed to give Congress the time needed to fully assess the implications of this ban.”
A Nebraska state court ruled Friday that it has jurisdiction over TikTok, dismissing the platform's motion to dismiss a child safety case. At the Nebraska District Court of Lancaster County, the state alleged that TikTok misrepresented its safety and suitability for minors, and that its data security and privacy practices violate Nebraska’s consumer protection laws.
Privacy protections might be sidelined during the Trump administration in order to focus on other emerging technology, said Mallory Knodel, founder of the Social Web Foundation, in a Friday piece for TechPolicy.Press.
A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court signaled on Friday it will likely uphold Congress’ TikTok divestment law because the company’s Beijing ties raise legitimate security concerns.
Speculative national security concerns about the Chinese government abusing Americans’ data privacy aren’t enough to justify an unconstitutional law forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok, Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Thursday in an amicus brief they filed along with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
Passing an anti-TikTok bill with a private right of action will be a priority for Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares this legislative session, the Republican said Tuesday. Miyares supported a yet-to-be-numbered bill by Del. Jay Leftwich (R). The AG office said the bill would establish “a private cause of action for parents against TikTok’s deceptive practices and addresses concerns related to data privacy, child exploitation, and security threats.” Leftwich and TikTok didn’t comment.
TikTok was aware its age restrictions were ineffective and thousands of minors were able to access its Live feed product, an internal investigation for the social media company showed, according to the Utah attorney general's office. The office on Friday announced the release of details that were previously redacted in its complaint filed in June against TikTok.