A recent law to pass in California increases online privacy for minors. Specifically, Senate Bill 568 permits minors to permanently delete their Internet posts from websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and the like, and additionally, requires those website owners to provide that erasing feature.
The law, which will take full effect in January 2015, aims to protect children and adolescents under the age of 18 from living with the harmful consequences that misguided pictures, videos, and text can carry for years to come. For example, an increasing number of college admissions officers and potential employers check social media sites as part of the application process. Thus, evidence of immature behavior could prevent minors from getting into a school or landing a job.
In addition to mandating that websites provide a permanent delete feature for unwanted content, the bill also requires websites that are specifically directed to minors to ban advertisements featuring harmful products, such as alcohol, firearms, and other restricted products. This prohibition also applies to general interest websites when the site owner has actual knowledge that the user is under 18-years-old.
There are, however, a few caveats to the new legislation. For instance, a website owner is not required to erase content which has previously been re-posted by a third party before a minor took action to remove it. Moreover, the bill doesn’t guarantee complete removal of unwanted content, the eraser option is only available to the minor who originally posted the content, and websites are not required to delete the information from its data servers.
While the new legislation has many supporters, there are groups that find faults in the proposed plan. One challenge being that as California is the first and only state to require websites to provide this service, it will force web owners, who are unbound by state lines, to collaborate policies in order to comply with each state’s differing laws. Notably, challengers of the bill also maintain that online content can sometimes serve as evidence of a crime, and that the ability to permanently delete culpable content risks interfering with identifying ownership of that crime.
If you see a privacy lawyer, contact the expert privacy lawyers at Revision Legal at 855-473-8474.
There are some significant changes coming to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that will affect trademark filings beginning January 18, 2025. These changes include the introduction of the Trademark Center, new fees, and revised application requirements. Here is an overview of the key changes: The USPTO will retire the TEAS system, which […]
Read more about 2025 Changes to Trademark Fees
In today’s competitive e-commerce landscape, automated decision-making technology is becoming more and more important. From personalized product recommendations to targeted advertising and streamlined logistics, these systems help ecommerce businesses adapt and grow. But new regulations are on the horizon, and these changes could reshape the way e-commerce businesses use automation. The California Privacy Protection Agency […]
Read more about Automated Decision-Making Technology: California Releases Proposed Regulations
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued final amendments to its trade regulation rule concerning negative option plans, also known as the “click to cancel rule.” This rule aims to address widespread deceptive practices that prohibit customers from cancelling services in the same manner in which they signed up. Here’s a detailed summary of the […]
Read more about FTC Adopts Final “Click to Cancel Rule”