California Governor Gavin Newsom has A new bill, known as AB 2273, has been signed into law. It could change how social media platforms handle underage users. The bill, known as AB 2273, “requires online platforms to consider the best interest of child users and to default to privacy and safety settings that protect children’s mental and physical health and wellbeing,” according to a press release from Newsom’s office.
The law, which won’t go into effect until July of 2024, is meant to place further restrictions on the type of data that platforms can collect from children. From Newsom’s press release: “AB 2273 prohibits companies that provide online services, products or features likely to be accessed by children from using a child’s personal information; collecting, selling, or retaining a child’s geolocation; profiling a child by default; and leading or encouraging children to provide personal information.”
However, it’s still not yet clear exactly what this will mean on a practical level for social media, games and other online platforms. Privacy advocates, as well as tech industry professionals, have already criticized the bill.
Digital rights groups have criticized the requirement that companies identify child users. This could lead to privacy breaches for all, not just children. “The bill is so vaguely and broadly written that it will almost certainly lead to widespread use of invasive age verification techniques that subject children (and everyone else) to more surveillance while claiming to protect their privacy,” Fight For the Future wrote in Denouncing the bill. “Requiring age verification also makes it nearly impossible to use online services anonymously, which threatens freedom of expression, particularly for marginalized communities, human rights activists, whistleblowers, and journalists.”
Newsom’s office said in a statement that a “Children’s Data Protection Working Group” would write a report on “best practices” for implementing the law by January 2024.
California’s law was passed under great pressure Social media companies should do more to ensure the safety and well-being of children using their platforms. The Senate has also introduced federal legislation. This would increase data protections to younger users. President Joe Biden said that he supports this idea. Online advertising that targets children
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