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Senate committee hears bill to set ‘privacy by default’ for children online
Summary
Lawmakers and privacy advocates described S.B.69, the Vermont Age Appropriate Design Code ("Kids Code"), which would require default high-privacy settings for minors, limit surveillant design practices and direct the attorney general to enforce and issue rules including age-assurance methods.
Sen. Wendy Harrison, chair of the Senate Committee on Institutions, introduced S.B.69 on Feb. 18, saying the Vermont Age Appropriate Design Code (also called the Vermont Kids Code) "aims to create a safer and more appropriate online environment for Vermont's minors" by focusing regulation on platform design and data practices rather than content.
The bill would require covered businesses to set all default privacy settings for minors to the most protective option, prohibit certain data-mining and design practices that promote compulsive use, limit push notifications, and require transparency about algorithmic recommendation systems. Enforcement and rulemaking would be handled by the Vermont attorney general, who the bill directs to promulgate privacy-protective age-assurance rules and to update rules at least every two years.
The measure's sponsor, Sen. Harrison, told the committee the law is intended to protect…
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