Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Earns Bipartisan Vote of 42-7 on Third & Final Reading
LINCOLN – The Nebraska Kids Code Coalition applauds today’s overwhelming vote by the Nebraska legislature in favor of final passage of Senator Carolyn Bosn’s LB504, the Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act. The bill was requested at the beginning of the session by Governor Jim Pillen as a key element of the state’s strategy to address dangers young people face on social media and online.
“Today is a landmark moment for Nebraska parents, families, and community members working toward a better, safer digital world. We are immensely grateful to Governor Pillen and Senator Bosn for their leadership and we applaud our legislators for leading the way to protect Nebraska’s kids.”
Governor Pillen could sign the bill into law as soon as this week. The Coalition’s fact sheet provides information about how the law will protect kids and which online platforms and services it will impact.
About the Nebraska Age-Appropriate Online Design Code
Social media companies are profiting off the time, attention, and data of young people—creating a vicious cycle of exploitation and harm. Online platforms purposely design their products to keep kids on screens, track kids’ activity, and then monetize the data they collect to increase profits – no matter the cost to Nebraska kids and families.
In Nebraska, more than a third of high school students say they’ve felt sad or hopeless during the past year. During the 2022-’23 school year, only about one in two high-school-aged Nebraska teens participated in any community service or volunteer work at school or church at all, way down from the levels of community participation we saw just five years ago. Meanwhile, social media companies collectively made over $11 billion in US advertising revenue from minors in 2022, according to a Harvard study.
The Nebraska Age-Appropriate Online Design Code would improve young people’s digital experiences by requiring tech companies to implement privacy-by-default and safety-by-design protections for kids online. This means setting high privacy standards by default and avoiding manipulative design. This bill has been designed by Sen. Carolyn Bosn and community stakeholders to incorporate Nebraska values and legal principles. Governor Pillen and Attorney General Hilgers support the bill and stand ready to use its provisions to hold Big Tech accountable and improve online safety for Nebraska’s kids.
About the Kids Code Coalition
The Kids Code Coalition is a wide-ranging group of national and state organizations dedicated to improving youth online security and privacy by supporting policies that ensure companies prioritize kids’ and teens’ safety and developmental needs when designing digital platforms and products.
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