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Kids Online Safety Act Returns

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Kids Online Safety Act Returns June 2, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Katherine Kalpos, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 The fight for a safer online experience for kids is back on the table. On May 15th, Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), bringing back the exact same proposal from December 2024. We’ve been down this road before, meticulously tracking every twist and turn. But this year, it’s time for a clean slate. This blog cuts through the noise to reveal KOSA’s core components and their potential impact on minors, parents, and […]

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Public Interest Privacy Center Releases Updated State Law Maps

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Press Release Public Interest Privacy Center Releases Updated State Law Maps May 29, 2025 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Public Interest Privacy Center (PIPC) is pleased to announce the release of several updated maps outlining state student privacy laws. The updated state maps series currently includes:  Comprehensive Consumer Privacy Laws; Data from a “Known Child” as Sensitive;  Laws to Protect Children;  State Student Privacy Laws;  Cellphones in Schools Policies;  Laws Modeled on SOPIPA See the maps below!  The State Student Privacy Laws map is adapted from the Student Privacy Compass’s State Student Privacy Laws tracker.  ### About PIPC Founded

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Recapping USED’s Recent Surge in FERPA Enforcement Activities

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Recapping USED’s Recent Surge in FERPA Enforcement Activities  April 17, 2025 Morgan Sexton and Amelia Vance   CC BY-NC 4.0 The student privacy landscape has shifted dramatically in recent weeks, with the U.S. Department of Education (USED) initiating two statewide FERPA investigations in California and Maine. This blog post unpacks these investigations and shares our new infographic showing the steps in a FERPA investigation.  As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact our team! TLDR: On March 27th and 28th, the USED Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) launched two FERPA investigations of the California and Maine state

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Fixing FERPA: FERPA Must Clearly Protect All PII Accessible to Schools

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FERPA Must Clearly Protect All PII Accessible to Schools January 28, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Katherine Kalpos, Morgan Sexton, Amelia Vance, and Casey Waughn   CC BY-NC 4.0 An eighth-grade teacher, Mr. Denning, is shown a video of one of his students, Lauren, candidly discussing her recent experience overcoming mental health struggles on Instagram. He makes a note of what Lauren said in her profile on the school’s student information system (SIS) so that the school guidance counselor can access this information when meeting with Lauren in the future. The note Mr. Denning added is protected under the Family Educational Rights

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New COPPA Update: A Setback for Schools and Student Privacy?

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New COPPA Update A Setback for Schools and Student Privacy? January 17, 2025 Morgan Sexton and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a much-anticipated update to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule)–and it is not what the education community was hoping for. As you may recall, the FTC released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to update the COPPA Rule in December 2023, which included rules clarifying when schools can consent to technology use instead of parents and imposing strong contractual requirements on edtech vendors. However, the final rule

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A Kids Online Safety Bill in Time for the Holidays? It’s Possible.

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A Kids Online Safety Bill in Time for the Holidays? It’s Possible. December 9, 2024 Jessica Arciniega, Katherine Kalpos, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 Hello all, As you may recall–the Senate passed the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA) in July, incorporating two major student and child privacy bills–the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teen’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). The House Energy & Commerce Committee passed different versions of KOSA and COPPA 2.0 in September, leaving questions about how these bills would proceed. This weekend, Senator Blackburn released a new version

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Comparing KOSA AINS with KOSPA

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Comparing the House’s KOSA with Senate’s KOSPA On 7/30/24, the Senate passed the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA), which incorporates two major student and child privacy bills–the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teen’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0)–into the Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2024. On 9/17/24, the House posted an amendment in the nature of a substitute from Representative Bilirakis to their previously introduced version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Below is our redline comparing KOSPA as it passed the Senate to the House version of KOSA (as updated in the

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Comparing COPPA 2.0 AINS with KOSPA

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Comparing the House’s COPPA 2.0 AINS with the Senate’s KOSPA The Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) will be included in a Wednesday (9/18) markup by the full House Commerce Committee. An amendment in the nature of a substitute (AINS) were shared publicly this morning (9/17) for both bills. Below is our redline comparing the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA) as it passed the Senate to the House version of COPPA 2.0 (as updated in the AINS on 9/17). A similar redline for KOSA is forthcoming. Children and

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Comparing Senate KOSPA with House KOSA/COPPA 2.0

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Comparing Senate KOSPA with House KOSA/COPPA 2.0 On 7/30/24, the Senate passed the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA), which incorporates two major student and child privacy bills–the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teen’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0)–into the Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2024. Below is our redline comparing KOSPA as it passed the Senate to the House versions of KOSA (as updated in the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute for KOSA on 6/27) and COPPA 2.0 (as introduced in the House). Table of Contents Add a header to begin generating

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Comparing Senate Versions of KOSA/COPPA 2.0 vs KOSPA

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Comparing Senate Versions of KOSA/COPPA 2.0 vs KOSPA On Tuesday (7/23/24) Senate Majority Leader Schumer introduced an amendment to add two major student and child privacy bills–the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teen’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0)–to the Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2024. This created a new bill–the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act–which passed a cloture vote today (7/25/24). The Senate is expected to vote on the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act next week. Below is our redline tracking substantive changes to KOSA and COPPA 2.0 in the Kids Online Safety

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