New Resources

Senate Commerce Advances COPPA 2.0, With Notable Changes

Senate Commerce Advances COPPA 2.0, With Notable Changes July 15, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 On June 25th, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) was favorably reported out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Recap: What is COPPA 2.0?  COPPA 2.0 is a bill that seeks to update and strengthen safeguards in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal law enacted in 1998 that regulates how commercial operators can collect personal information from children under 13 (see these resources for more […]

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Fixing FERPA: Adding Cybersecurity Requirements

Fixing FERPA: Adding Cybersecurity Requirements July 3, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance   CC BY-NC 4.0 The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) governs how schools handle everything from report cards to sensitive psychological evaluations. Yet this cornerstone of student privacy law was written in 1974—nearly three decades before most Americans had ever heard of the internet, and long before anyone imagined that a single cyberattack could expose the intimate details of millions of students’ lives. The result? A massive gap between the digital threats students face and the legal protections designed to shield them. Today,

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Supreme Court Upholds Age Verification: A Game-Changer for Child Online Safety Laws

Supreme Court Upholds Age Verification: A Game-Changer for Child Online Safety Laws July 1, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Morgan Sexton, & Amelia Vance   CC BY-NC 4.0 Introduction Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, upholding Texas’s law requiring adult websites to verify users’ ages before allowing access. While this case specifically addressed pornographic content, the ruling’s implications likely extend far beyond adult websites—potentially reshaping how courts evaluate the dozens of state laws designed to protect children online that have repeatedly been blocked by federal judges over the past several years. TLDR:

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Kids Online Safety Act Returns

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

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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FERPA Priorities in the New Administration

FERPA Priorities in the New Administration May 7, 2025 Amelia Vance and Morgan Sexton   CC BY-NC 4.0 TLDR: Within the first month of the new Secretary of Education being confirmed, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) announced FERPA enforcement priorities. This reflects an unprecedented focus by a new presidential administration on student privacy. The priorities flagged by USED include: Parental Right to Inspect and Review Education Records;  Safety of Students;  Annual Notification of Rights; and  Military Recruiters. USED also asked State Education Agencies (SEAs) to submit documentation on their and their LEAs FERPA compliance. USED’s focus on FERPA compliance

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Fixing FERPA

Did you know that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a student privacy law that has been around for nearly 50 years, was influenced by the rise of computers? Did you know that FERPA restricts educational apps from using student’s personally identifiable information for anything other than the educational purpose approved by the school? Did you know that, contrary to popular belief, FERPA is continuously and actively enforced by the U.S. Department of Education? Despite its continued applicability and relevance in today’s data-driven education landscape, FERPA is often criticized as outdated and insufficient. But the prevalence of inaccurate

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Comparing Provisions in KOSMA and KOSA

Comparing Provisions in KOSMA and KOSA The Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA) and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) are progressing through Congress, both with the shared objective of protecting children online. KOSA attempts to achieve this goal with broad requirements that are aimed at making the platforms minors use safer. KOSMA, on the other hand, aims to protect children from social media in two main ways: Prohibiting minors under age 13 from creating or maintaining social media accounts Prohibiting social media companies from targeted content to to minors using algorithms Requiring schools to block and filter social media

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Comparing Definitions of “Social Media Platform” in KOSMA

Comparing Definitions of “Social Media Platform” in KOSMA The Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA),* introduced on May 1st, is a bipartisan bill that combines Senator Schatz’s Protecting Kids on Social Media Act and Senator Cruz’s Eyes on the Board Act. According to the press release, KOSMA aims to: “Prohibit children under the age of 13 from creating or maintaining social media accounts, consistent with the current stated policies of major social media companies; Prohibit social media companies from pushing targeted content using algorithms to users under the age of 17; Provide the FTC and state attorneys general authority to

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Comparing Requirements for Schools Under E-Rate & KOSMA

Comparing Requirements for Schools Under E-Rate & KOSMA The Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), introduced on May 1st, is a bipartisan bill that combines Senator Schatz’s Protecting Kids on Social Media Act and Senator Cruz’s Eyes on the Board Act. According to the press release, KOSMA aims to: “Prohibit children under the age of 13 from creating or maintaining social media accounts, consistent with the current stated policies of major social media companies; Prohibit social media companies from pushing targeted content using algorithms to users under the age of 17; Provide the FTC and state attorneys general authority to

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