Children's Privacy

Recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping set of laws related to minors’ privacy and safety, including new laws that restrict covered platforms from providing certain features to users under 16, impose a duty of care on social media platforms, revise the state’s Age-Appropriate Design Code, modify the state’s age-assurance requirements governing age signals, and impose safety requirements on AI chatbots. This blog summarizes the key takeaways from these new laws.

Continue Reading California Enacts Several Minors’ Privacy and Safety Laws

On September 17, 2026, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published its proposal for a new EU framework on child safety online (the “KIDS Act”). The proposed Regulation aims to introduce EU-harmonized age-based account restrictions, safety-by-design rules, and age-assurance obligations across a broad range of digital services and systems.

The proposal is the latest of a growing body of initiatives aimed at strengthening children’s safety and privacy in the digital world, both in the EU and globally, as discussed in our recent blog post.

This post summarizes some of the KIDS Act’s key features.

Continue Reading The EU KIDS Act Proposal: Towards a New Regulatory Framework for the Protection of Children Online

In recent months, children’s online safety and privacy have moved to the top of the EU’s digital agenda. The European Commission is expected to outline its proposal on minors’ access to social media this week, a potentially significant development that would build on the recommendations of the Commission’s Special Panel on child safety online and mounting pressure from Member States.

The EU is not moving in isolation. Similar debates on minors’ access to online platforms, age assurance, and safety-by-design obligations are emerging in other jurisdictions. These include Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as a rapidly developing patchwork of state-level age-verification, app-store, and device-based age-assurance requirements in the United States.

This post provides a horizon-scanning update on the principal regulatory developments at the EU level, selected national developments, and some relevant developments outside the EU.

Continue Reading Horizon Scan: Children’s Online Safety and Privacy (EU and Beyond)

On July 28, 2026, the New York Office of the Attorney General released final rules (the “Rules”) implementing the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, which goes into effect on January 25, 2027.

The SAFE for Kids Act requires online “addictive social media platforms,” which are defined as…

Continue Reading New York Publishes Final SAFE For Kids Act Rules

On March 25, 2026, the UK’s Office of Communications (“Ofcom”) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published a joint statement setting out their common expectations for age assurance on online services (“Joint Statement”). The Joint Statement is aimed at services likely to be accessed by children that fall within the scope of the Online Safety Act 2023 (“OSA”) and UK data protection legislation, and is designed to help providers comply with both their online safety and data protection obligations when deploying age assurance.

The Joint Statement arrives alongside a broader push from both regulators—including Ofcom’s recent call to action directed at major tech firms, an open letter from the ICO urging platforms to strengthen their age checks, and several enforcement actions by both regulators.

Continue Reading Ofcom and ICO Issue Joint Statement on Age Assurance

On March 2, 2026, the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (“DSIT”) launched its consultation, titled “Growing up in the online world: a national conversation”. The consultation is open until 26 May 2026, after which the government will publish a summary of responses and its proposed approach. DSIT has indicated that it intends to move quickly on the consultation’s findings, drawing on newly granted powers that allow for accelerated implementation of online safety measures.

The consultation seeks views on a wide range of potential measures to strengthen children’s safety and wellbeing online, including more robust age‑assurance mechanisms, a statutory minimum age for social media, raising the UK’s age of digital consent, restrictions on certain features (such as livestreaming and disappearing messages), and new obligations for AI chatbots and generative‑AI services.

DSIT’s proposals could significantly expand regulatory expectations beyond the Online Safety Act 2023 (“OSA”)—including potential age‑based access limits (including differing safeguards as between teens and younger children), feature‑level restrictions, and enhanced duties for AI‑enabled services. Early engagement will be important to ensure that the government takes account of the views of affected service providers and understands the operational and technical implications of the measures proposed.

Continue Reading UK Government Launches Consultation on Children’s Online Experiences, Including New Obligations for AI

Last week, the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (“GPEN”)—a global network of over 30 national data protection authorities—announced the launch of its annual privacy sweep. The purpose of the sweep is to examine how websites and mobile applications commonly used by children handle minors’ personal information. Members of GPEN include regulators who have long prioritized protections for children and teens, such as the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the California Attorney General, the California Privacy Protection Agency, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, the French Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (“CNIL”), and the Irish Data Protection Commission.

Continue Reading Global Privacy Regulators Launch Enforcement Sweep Focused on Children’s Data Protection

Recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law several privacy and related proposals, including new laws governing browser opt-out preference signals, social media account deletion, data brokers, reproductive and health services, age signals for app stores, social media “black box warning” labels for minors, and companion chatbots. This blog summarizes…

Continue Reading California Enacts New Privacy Laws