Children and Media

Google and its subsidiary YouTube will pay a record $170 million to settle allegations by the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General that the YouTube video sharing service illegally collected personal information from children without their parents’ consent.

Perhaps the biggest news of the week was the agenda for the Federal Communications Commission's July 10 Open Meeting, which FCC Chairman Ajit Pai laid out in a blog post on June 18, 2019. I'm traveling to New York this week; below is a shorter-than-usual weekly that takes a look at how Chairman Pai plans to take education out of the Educational Broadband Service -- and broadcast television.

There’s a common complaint among high school students across the country, and it has nothing to do with curfews or allowances: Internet filters are preventing them from doing online research at school. School districts must block obscene or harmful images to qualify for federally-subsidized internet access under the Children’s Internet Protection Act, passed by Congress nearly 25 years ago. But the records, from 16 districts across 11 states, show they go much further. Some of the censorship inhibits students’ ability to do basic research on sites like Wikipedia and Quora.

Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) led his colleagues in filing an amicus brief opposing the Biden administration’s recent decision to expand the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) E-Rate program to fund Wi-Fi on school buses. The Fifth Circuit lawsuit, Molak v.

House Innovation, Data and Commerce Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), together with Representatives Kathy Castor (D-FL), Erin Houchin (R-IN), and Kim Schrier (D-WA) have introduced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). This comprehensive legislation will provide kids and parents with the safeguards, tools, and transparency they need to better protect against serious online threats to children’s health and emotional wellbeing.

Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Kathy Castor (D-FL) introduced Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). The bipartisan, bicameral COPPA 2.0 modernizes and strengthens the only online privacy law for children, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

The Maryland legislature 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. One bill, 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.

On Saturday, March 23, 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (H.R. 2882), legislation that provides funding through September 30, 2024, for projects and activities of departments and agencies of the Federal Government. H.R. 2882 completes the appropriations process for fiscal year 2024 (FY2024). Earlier in March, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (H.R.

Today’s teenagers are more digitally connected than ever. Most have access to smartphones and use social media, and nearly half say they are online almost constantly. But how are young people navigating this “always on” environment? To better understand their experiences, we surveyed both teens and parents on a range of screen time-related topics. Our questions explored the emotions teens tie to their devices, the impact of smartphones on youth, and the challenges parents face when raising children in the digital age. Key findings from the survey include:

The Federal Communications Commission is poised to raise taxes through its Universal Service Fund—a regressive, hidden tax on consumers' phone bills that funds a series of unaccountable, bloated internet subsidy programs. Rather than giving the FCC carte blanche to expand its balance sheet, Congress must reform the USF's structural problems, reevaluate its component programs, and get the FCC's spending under control. Here is my plan to do that.