The Utah law was passed on the same day TikTok’s CEO appeared before Congress to testify on the safety concerns surrounding the app, ranging from mental health impacts to national security concerns. TikTok is wholly owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
Social media companies are already required to comply with the federal COPPA law that protects children under the age of 13. But loopholes have led to advertisers unknowingly collecting children’s data. California, too, passed a similar law that increases the privacy settings for minors and prohibits the collection of location data of those users by social media companies.
“Those requirements are unnecessary and burdensome,” said Oswald.
The ANA encourages legislators to look at more nuanced standards that recognize the difference between a 7-year-old and a 17-year-old to protect younger children without denying older teens access to ad-based content and information available to them online.
Other states, including Arkansas, Connecticut, New Jersey and Texas, are considering similar legislation to protect children.
