Vermont committee hears wide testimony on S.69 "Kids Code"; experts urge design rules, industry warns of vagueness and legal risk

Montpelier, Vt. — The Senate Committee on Institutions heard more than four hours of testimony Feb. 21 on S.69, the proposed Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code (often called the Vermont Kids Code), with pediatricians, child-safety advocates and academic experts urging design and data limits for platforms used by minors and trade groups warning the bill’s definitions are too broad and could raise constitutional and operational issues.

Sen. Wendy Harrison, chair of the Senate Committee on Institutions, opened the hearing and introduced witnesses and committee members. The bill would require online services likely to be used by minors to adopt privacy-by-default settings, limit certain design features that encourage compulsive use, restrict some nighttime notifications and increase transparency about algorithms and harms.

Supporters framed the bill as a targeted public-health and child-safety measure. "Teens spend an average 8 and a half hours on screens," testimony from a Seton Hall law scholar said, drawing a line between platform business models and prolonged youth screen time. Heidi Schumacher, a general pediatrician testifying for the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Vermont Medical Society, said the groups "support the common sense measures in the Vermont Kids Code to implement privacy by default and safety by design…