As widely predicted, on July 30, 2024, the Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) in a bipartisan vote of 91-3. Echoing criticism from both civil liberties groups and industry, Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) voted no
Privacy
Kids Task Force Issues Guidance for Protecting Minors Online
The interagency Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force, which was created last year and is led by the Department of Commerce (through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration) and the Department of Health and Human Services (through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), released a report on protecting minors online, Online Health …
Video Game Developer Settles Alleged Violations of Federal and State Privacy Laws Governing Children’s Data
On June 18, 2024, the California Attorney General (AG) and Los Angeles City Attorney jointly announced that video game developer and publisher Tilting Point Media LLC (Tilting Point) agreed to a $500,000 settlement for violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and California Unfair Competition Law (UCL) based…
State Privacy Bills Advance While Federal Bill Introduced
As we predicted in our assessment of U.S. advertising and privacy trends in February of this year, states have continued to adopt comprehensive privacy laws during their 2024 legislative sessions. To date, nineteen states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and…
Children’s Online Privacy: KOSA and COPPA Updates
As expected, Congress’ renewed focus on expanding protections for minors online has resulted in legislative developments that attempt to mitigate harms while adhering to the Constitution’s free speech and preemption parameters. Last month, updates to both the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 2.0 bills were released…
Children’s Online Privacy: History, Debates, and Current Legislative Developments
During 2023, legislative, congressional, and executive actions aimed at protecting children and teens online took center stage. Such actions included: legislative attempts to raise the age of a “child” at both the federal and state levels for advertising and privacy purposes; bans on behavioral advertising targeting minors; efforts to restrict access to social media by…
EDPB ePrivacy Guidelines: Comments Highlighting Risks to Businesses with Digital Activities
Keller and Heckman has submitted comments to the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) in the context of a public consultation on their draft guidelines 2/2023 on the Technical Scope of Art. 5(3) of ePrivacy Directive, on behalf of various organisations that wished to contribute in a meaningful manner without drawing attention to their identity.…
FTC Approves NPR Updating the COPPA Rule
On December 20, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) finally published its long-awaited proposed Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) updating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule). Find out more here.
AI Regulation: The Next Frontier
As the federal government continues to wrestle with the complex issue of regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the wake of the release of President Biden’s Executive Order, states have already proposed or enacted AI regulation, and even more will attempt to tackle the issue in 2024. Two recent developments in AI regulation from California…
Why every company with digital activities should comment on the EDPB’s new ePrivacy guidelines
So much for tackling consent fatigue. The short version: If unchanged, the new EDPB guidelines on what is known as the “cookie” rule would extend that rule to cover nearly every communication over the Internet and any use of software on a computer. Your business is probably more impacted than you might think, and it…