Ben Breen reports:
One of the ten bills Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed Thursday has the goal of making Vermont children safer online. The bill faces challenges in court, but its supporters say it is necessary in a rapidly changing world.
Senate Bill 69, known as the Vermont Kids Code, aims to protect kids from “abusive” practices of social media companies. Governor Phil Scott, in his statement on signing the bill, said, “As we see more and more kids using technology, I believe most would agree we need to take steps to protect them in a reasonable and responsible way when they’re online.”
Among other provisions, the bill prohibits companies from selling children’s data, keeps parents and other adults from secretly using apps to track kids, and making it so adults cannot message children without their explicit and unambiguous assent. It also says that social media companies must have push notifications disabled by default on children’s accounts.
Read more at My Champlain Valley.