SB 208 — AN ACT CONCERNING SOCIAL MEDIA AND PARENTAL CONSENT.

Senate General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

208261 February Session, 2022 LCOSubstitute Senate Bill No.

1518208 ReferredSenate, toApril Committee4, on2022 COMMITTEEThe ONCommittee CHILDRENon IntroducedChildren by:reportedthrough SEN.

(KID)ANWAR ANof ACTthe CONCERNING3rd SOCIALDist., MEDIAChairperson ANDof PARENTALthe CONSENT.Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING SOCIAL MEDIA AND PARENTAL CONSENT.

Sec.

2.

(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2022) (a) As used in this section, the terms "operator", "web site or online service directed to children", "parent" and "personal information" have the same meaning as provided in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 USC 6501 et seq., as amended from time to time.

(b) On and after October 1, 2022, not later than ten days after receipt of a request by a parent, an operator shall delete the account of such parent's child, as defined in section 1 of this act, or cease the further use or maintenance in retrievable form, or future online collection, of personal information collected from such child, on any of the operator's sSB208 / File No.

261 1 sSB208 File No.

261 web sites or online services directed to children.

Each operator shall provide a reasonable, accessible and verifiable means by which a parent can make such request to the operator.

Section 1 October 1, 2022 New section StatementSec. of Purpose:

To2 requireOctober an1, Internet2022 operatorNew tosection obtainKID parentalJoint consentFavorable beforeSubst. allowing a child under sixteen years of age to open a social media account with the operator.

thatsSB208 when/ theFile entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] LCO No.

1518261 12 ofsSB208 1File No.

261 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation This bill raises, from 13 to 16, the age up to which a parent’s consent is required for social media access.

The bill also requires commercial websites or online services directed to children to (1) delete the child's account, (2) stop using or maintaining it in retrievable form, or (3) stop collecting the child's personal information, when requested by the parent or legal guardian.

This bill has no fiscal impact on the state or municipalities.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None sSB208 / File No.

261 3 sSB208 File No.

261 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 208 AN ACT CONCERNING SOCIAL MEDIA AND PARENTAL CONSENT.

SUMMARY This bill raises, from 13 to 16, the age up to which a parent’s (i.e., legal guardian’s) consent is required for social media access.

The bill does so by changing the definition of “child” to mean an individual under age 16, for the purposes of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in Connecticut (see BACKGROUND).

Starting on October 1, 2022, within 10 days of receiving a parent’s request, the bill requires persons with commercial websites or online services directed to children (“operators”), to (1) delete the child's account, (2) stop using or maintaining it in retrievable form, or (3) stop collecting the child's personal information (i.e., identifiable information about an individual collected online, such as name, address, telephone and Social Security numbers, and photograph).

It also requires operators to provide a reasonable, accessible, and verifiable way for parents to make this request.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2022 OPERATOR Under the bill, "operator" means any person who (1) operates an Internet website or online service and who collects or maintains personal information from or about the users of, or visitors to, the websiteoronlineservice,oronwhosebehalftheinformationiscollected or maintained, or (2) offers products or services for sale through that website or online service.

Personal information is collected or maintained on behalf of an sSB208 / File No.

261 4 sSB208 File No.

261 operator when (1) it is collected or maintained by an operator's agent or service provider or (2) the operator benefits by allowing another person to collect personal information directly from the website or online service's users.

BACKGROUND Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) The federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) regulates the online collection of personal information from children under 13.

It applies to commercial websites and online services directed at children and other commercial websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting information from children.