California children's code could force tech companies to use stronger privacy protections

The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act may lead to greater privacy protections for minors across the U.S., Government Technology reports. The law, which goes into effect in 2024, could make it “difficult for technology companies to apply different rules to users in different places,” and could compel them to add stronger protections by default. Technology industry groups could still challenge the law because certain provisions “are overly vague,” such as requiring websites to “estimate the age of child users with a ‘reasonable level of certainty,’” which could create a scenario where technology companies collect even more personal data.