How California Will Control Social Media
California Governor Gavin Newson signed a new bill into law that aims to protect kids' privacy on social media by prohibiting companies from collecting any data on minors.
The trend of younger and younger users hopping onto social media sites to connect with friends has sparked concern from many corners. Most of these sites gear their content toward older teens and adults, so they lack built-in protections for children. So parents and advocacy groups have pressured lawmakers for the last few years to take action and protect kids, and with the latest news out of California, it appears that their voices were heard.
Yesterday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new bill into law, AB 2273. It is the first of its kind in the nation, and proponents claim it will help protect children’s privacy. It will not go into effect until 2024, which gives the state ample time to decide how to implement it.
AB 2273 will require social media companies to make the safety and privacy of children their top priority. They would need to default to settings in the best interest of kids and verify age before removing the restrictions. It will also prohibit the collection or tracking of data from children.
Engadget published a portion of Newsom’s press release, that reads: “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.” In theory, this sounds great. However, some groups are concerned about the vague language in the bill.
Tech companies, privacy experts, and digital rights advocates have all raised objections to portions of AB 2273. One of the criticisms is that the high bar social media companies will have to meet will negatively impact adult users. They fear it will hurt online anonymity, thus restricting First Amendment rights.
Additionally, California offered no recommendations regarding how social media companies could implement these changes. They will require significant updates on the back end, which is unwelcome news for developers. It will likely take some time to work through the countless minute details before the companies have to comply.
Newsom stated that California will also work on potential solutions to the programming conundrum, so the tech companies don’t have to go it alone. Part of his solution will be to appoint a “Children’s Data Protection Working Group” to work on recommendations. Their charge will be to write a report with best practices and then offer it to social media companies.
Whether an external list of best practices is what these tech giants want remains unclear. There is yet to be an official response from any of them about the passing of AB 2273. But government oversight will likely become the norm.
The federal government is also facing mounting pressure to pass legislation focused on the privacy and protection of the youngest social media users. There is a recent push in the Senate to pass federal legislation that will protect the well-being of children. And with the news out of California, it may just be the push necessary to pass a bill at the federal level.
