Senate amends, advances bill to require ‘‘age-appropriate’’ online design and privacy protections for children

The Vermont Senate on March 12 amended and advanced S.69, an "age-appropriate design" bill that would require covered internet services to design products and default settings to reduce harms to children and increase privacy protections.

Senator from Windham, the bill reporter, said the measure requires covered businesses to "design their online services in a way that is not unreasonably harmful to children" and to owe a duty of care to children whose data they process. The Senate adopted the committee-recommended amendment on a roll call vote, with 25 senators voting yes and five voting no; senators then ordered the bill to third reading.

Supporters told the committee and the floor that the bill targets large international internet companies rather than Vermont firms. The reporter said the legislation would not control or limit content, which she said remains protected by the U.S. Constitution, but would restrict design practices and algorithms that she described as intended to "addict"…