Statement on the Passage of California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act
SAN FRANCISCO, August 30, 2022 — Last night, the California Senate passed a much anticipated bipartisan bill to strengthen online privacy protections for children. The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act establishes the highest default privacy settings for users under the age of 18 years old and empowers young users to access, understand, and report concerning terms of service and privacy policies. Jim Steyer, Founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, issued the following statement after the vote.
"While the California Senate failed young people earlier this month by holding up AB 2408, a bill we strongly supported to hold platforms liable for addictive site features, we are very encouraged by last night's bipartisan passage of AB 2273, a monumental step toward protecting California kids online. The action, authored by Assemblymembers Wicks, Cunningham and Petrie-Norris, sends an important signal about the need to make children's online health and safety a greater priority for lawmakers and for our tech companies, particularly when it comes to websites that are accessed by young users. Governor Newsom should sign this bill.
"AB 2273, however, is only part of the change we need to better protect young people from the manipulative and dangerous practices online platforms employ today. Modernizing internet safety standards cannot continue to be an afterthought. California legislators, and lawmakers around the country, need to follow up on this important development by enacting additional online privacy and platform accountability measures. Common Sense looks forward to continuing our work with legislators next year to expand the meaningful progress just made on behalf of children and families across the state."
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About Common Sense
Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. Learn more at commonsense.org.
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