Maryland is the latest state to weigh online safety rules for kids

Maryland is the latest state to consider online safety rules for children

Maryland lawmakers are proposing digital safety standards for children that mirror pioneering rules from the United Kingdom, the latest state aiming to require tech companies to build stronger child protections in a nationwide push.

On Monday, Democratic state officials are hosting an event to rally support for their newly proposed Maryland Age-Appropriate Design Code Act. Like the UK Age Appropriate Design Code, the measure would require digital services to prioritize the welfare and safety of children in product design and screen them for any risks they may pose to younger users.

Maryland is at least the sixth state to consider online child safety measures similar to British standards, which have emerged as an important model for US lawmakers looking to strengthen child protections online.

State politicians in New Mexico, Oregon, New York and New Jersey have also introduced bills very similar to the UK’s rules, while lawmakers in California were the first to enact a measure last year. The state bills come as efforts to pass privacy and online safety standards for children have been stalled by political divisions in Congress.

The trend reflects a surge in legislative activity on the issue, which gained momentum in the United States in 2021 following the Facebook whistleblower Franz Haugen Disclosed internal research suggesting that the company’s products can sometimes deepen mental health problems in children and adolescents.

Maryland Del. Jared Solomon (D-Montgomery), one of the lawmakers leading the local prosecution, said the approach would make the Internet a “safer space for children” by preventing companies from designing their products in a way that younger users can use with little Remain addicted to their welfare -Being.

“If your business model is designed solely to manipulate and, frankly, harm young people to make money, then maybe we need to look at a different business model,” he told me in an interview on Sunday.

The White House gave the effort a big boost last week ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address. request an information sheet for platforms Committed to “putting the privacy and well-being of young people ahead of profit and revenue in their product design”.

It’s also gaining momentum on Capitol Hill. A bipartisan group of senators last year proposed a separate but similar measure that would create a “duty of care” for platforms children are likely to access and require them to provide greater parental control features.

However, these congressional efforts have met major political hurdles, opening the door for state legislatures to play an outsized role in setting traffic rules for children’s online safety in the United States.

Solomon, A former helper Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), said state policymakers can’t wait for Washington to act, but if the standards passed, they could spur action in Congress.

“Often times Washington only moves after a large group of states have done so individually, so I don’t think we can waste any more time,” he said.

5 senior policy managers for rights Marisa Sheawhose London-based non-profit organization is working to replicate British standards in the United States, said it would be better if there was “a global single standard” for children’s online safety.

But instead of congressional action, she said, some US guard rails are better than none.

“I’d much rather have more kids protected across the United States and different states than wait for federal agencies to decide they want to do something,” said Shea, whose group is working with Solomon and other state legislators nationwide on an age-appropriate design code works bills.

Technology industry groups and some civil rights advocates have backed down on these efforts, arguing that the proposed legislation is either too broad or could have major unintended consequences.

NetChoice, a trade group that counts Google, Meta and Amazon among its members, has sued to block California’s age-appropriate design code law, arguing that it violates the constitutional right of companies to make “editorial decisions” about it how it moderates content.

The group said the law could also force companies to enforce their standards, which would lead to censorship. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post.)

Civil rights and human rights groups have also raised concerns that the measures could require companies to verify the age of all their users, which would lead to more data collection, and that they are too vague about what constitutes the best interests of children.

Solomon said he hopes their measure could be on the books within a few months. “We think we’re well positioned to make it through this year,” he said.

Schumer says Congress should look into banning TikTok

Majority Leader in the Senate Charles E Schumer (DN.Y.) said in an ABC News interview that aired Sunday that banning TikTok from the United States “should be considered” over security concerns and that members of the Senate Commerce Committee are “looking into it now.”

Schumer is one of the highest-ranking US officials to date to issue such a ban, which would far exceed the restrictions Congress imposed last year on federal employees using the app on government devices. While lawmakers have introduced bipartisan legislation to ban the app outright, action hasn’t gone beyond committee.

The broadside comes as TikTok and the Biden administration continue negotiations over a possible oversight framework to allay US officials’ national security fears over the company, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance.

TikTok has previously pushed back calls for tighter restrictions on the app, saying it made a “broad” proposal to the Biden administration to address security concerns, including heightened privacy protections.

Pandemic fuels sale of mental health data, finds from reports

The rise of telehealth and therapy apps during the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated sales of US mental health data, my colleague Drew Harwell reports.

“In a new study released Monday, a research team from Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy outlines how expansive the market for human health data has become,” the report said.

“After reaching out to data brokers to ask what types of mental health information she could buy, researcher Johanna Kim reported that she eventually found 11 companies willing to sell bundles of data containing information about what antidepressants people were taking, whether they were struggling with insomnia or attention problems, and details of other medical conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease or Difficulty controlling bladder.”

Metatables team budgets when further layoffs are imminent

Facebook parent company has delayed finalizing several teams’ budgets as it prepares for a new round of job cuts, according to the Financial Times Hannah Murphy And Cristina Criddle Report.

That includes moving Mark ZuckerbergAccording to the report, he plans to contain costs in his “year of efficiency” at the social media company. Meta declined to comment to the Financial Times.

Meta announced plans in November to cut more than 11,000 jobs, or 13 percent of its workforce, which is part of a massive wave of layoffs across the tech industry, according to my peers Naomi Nix And Will Oremus reported. Job cuts across the industry have surpassed 200,000, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi.

Congressman who raised anti-Semitism issue on Twitter says he was bombarded with anti-Semitic tweets (CNN)

Lyft shares fall after unexpected loss, weak outlook (Wall Street Journal)

Twitter puts ads next to tweets from Holocaust deniers (The Verge)

ChatGPT madness sweeps China as firms seek domestic options (Reuters)

European telecoms advertisment firm vs. Big Tech wins EU antitrust law (Reuters)

Amazon subsidiary Zappos lays off around 20% of the workforce (Bloomberg)

One of Tesla’s biggest critics is funding a Super Bowl ad against it (Gerrit De Vynck and Faiz Siddiqui)

• The Senate Commerce Committee is holding a nomination hearing for gigi sonCandidate for the Federal Communications Commission, Tuesday at 10 a.m
• The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on “Protecting Our Children Online” at 10 a.m. Tuesday
• The FCC will hold an open commission meeting Thursday at 10:30 a.m
• Those of the Federal Trade Commission Alvaro Bedoya delivers the keynote address at a Future of Privacy Forum event Thursday at 5:30 p.m

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