House panel advances amended bill to require parental consent, ban targeted ads to minors; debate centers on privacy and enforceability

A subcommittee of the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee on Monday gave a favorable report to an amended bill that would require online services to verify the age of account holders, require parental consent for minors, bar targeted advertising to minors and impose data-handling and safety requirements on platforms that meet defined thresholds.

Representative Moore, the amendment's sponsor, told the committee the measure expands the original parental-consent bill to include an "age appropriate design code" and provisions that treat certain online services more like consumer products. He said the amendment bans targeted advertising to minors, requires default safety settings for underage users, restricts unnecessary data collection, prohibits dark-pattern design tactics and requires annual reporting on…