Cases of Note

Bill Summary Existing law generally regulates a social media platform, including by requiring a social media platform to clearly and conspicuously state whether it has a mechanism for reporting violent posts that is available to users and nonusers of the social media platform and to include a link to that reporting mechanism, as prescribed. Senate Bill 918 would require a social media platform to, at all times, make available by telephone to a law enforcement agency a law enforcement liaison for the purpose of receiving, and responding to, requests for information. The bill would would, except as prescribed, also require a social media platform to immediately comply with a search warrant provided to the social media platform by a law enforcement agency if the subject of the search warrant is an account on the social media platform owned by a user of the social media platform. Permits a person to seek an order requiring a social media platform to remove content that includes an offer t

Assembly Bill  2390  Social Media Harm Reduction Pilot Program Summary This bill establishes the Social Media Harm Reduction Pilot Program and would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to designate a nonprofit organization to undertake the responsibilities of the program. The responsibilities include recommending statewide standards for the use of online social networks by kindergarten and grades 1 to 12 pupils, inclusive, and would require the program to coordinate with existing laws regulating social media platforms to ensure consistency and avoid duplication of effort until December 31, 2029. The  Social Media Harm Reduction Pilot Program  enacts the following: 1) Establishes the Social Media Harm Reduction Pilot Program (program). Requires the California  Health and Human Services Agency to designate a nonprofit organization to undertake the responsibilities of the program. 2) Requires the program to: a) Develop model educational materials and methods to leverag

The Maryland Legislature this weekend passed two sweeping privacy bills that aim to restrict how powerful tech platforms can harvest and use the personal data of consumers and young people — despite strong objections from industry trade groups representing giants like Amazon, Google and Meta. The  Maryland Online Data Privacy Act , would impose wide-ranging restrictions on how companies may collect and use the personal data of consumers in the state. The other, the  Maryland Kids Code , would prohibit certain social media, video game and other online platforms from tracking people under 18 and from using manipulative techniques — like auto-playing videos or bombarding children with notifications — to keep young people glued online. “We are making a statement to the tech industry, and to Marylanders, that we need to rein in some of this data gathering,” said Delegate  Sara Love,  a Democratic member of the Maryland House of Delegates. Ms. Love, who sponsored the consumer bill and cospon

Google recently resolved its fourth case in four months, agreeing to delete billions of data records it compiled about millions of Chrome browser users, according to a legal filing. The suit, Chasom Brown, et al. v. Google, said the company had misled users by tracking their online activity in Chrome’s Incognito mode, which they believed would be private. Relevant here, individual plaintiffs brought this suit on behalf of two classes: Class 1, for Incognito users, and Class 2, for users of other private browsing modes. The grounds being invasion of privacy, unauthorized interception under the Wiretap Act; violation of CIPA; violation of CDAFA and intrusion upon seclusion. Since December, Google has spent well over $1 billion to settle lawsuits as it prepares to fight the Justice Department, which has targeted Google’s search engine and its advertising business in a pair of lawsuits. In December, Google resolved a suit with dozens of attorneys general claiming it strong-armed app maker