Over the past few years, states have launched various legislative expansion efforts to enhance the protection of children on social media and generally online. For example, this summer, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed into law the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act (SCOPE Act), which goes into effect September 2024. By doing so, Texas joins a multitude of other states that have passed similar legislation, including Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Minnesota, Ohio, and Utah. In part one of this two-part series, we discuss the child data protection laws in Texas, California, and Ohio.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed AB 947 and AB 1194 into law.

The United Kingdom has announced its decision to establish the UK-U.S. Data Bridge. The UK-U.S. Data Bridge will allow UK businesses and organizations to transfer personal data to organizations in the United States that have certified compliance with the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

On May 22, 2022, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed the Student Data Privacy Act (the “Act”), H.F. No. 2353, into law which amends Minnesota’s Government Data Practices Act. The Act went into effect beginning with the 2022-2023 school year. 

Texas recently amended its breach notification statute to shorten the time businesses have to notify the state Attorney General after a data breach affecting 250 or more Texas residents. As of September 1, businesses must notify the Attorney General within 30 days from when they determine that a breach has occurred. Previously, businesses had up to 60 days.