Children: internet safety: platform operators.

Existing law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) , grants consumers certain rights in regard to businesses, as defined, that collect personal information about them, including the right to know what information is collected and the right to opt-out of the sale of that information. Existing law, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, approved by the voters as Proposition 24 at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, among other changes in the CCPA, establishes the California Privacy Protection Agency and vests it with full administrative power, authority, and jurisdiction to implement and enforce the CCPA. Existing law prohibits specified unfair, dishonest, deceptive, destructive, fraudulent, and discriminatory practices by which fair and honest competition is destroyed or prevented. Existing law prohibits a business from selling personal information of consumers that the business knows are less than 16 years of age unless that sale is affirmatively authorized, as specified. Existing law, commencing January 1, 2023, also prohibits a business from sharing personal information of consumers that the business knows are less than 16 years of age unless that sale is affirmatively authorized, as specified. This bill would enact the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act for purposes of keeping children safe and protecting their interests on the internet. The bill would, among other things, prohibit an operator of a platform, as defined, from incorporating certain features with respect to content viewable by a covered user, as defined, without first obtaining consent from the parent or guardian of the covered user, including an auto-play setting that, without input from a covered user, commences additional video content directly following the video content initially selected by the covered user, except as specified. This bill would provide that a violation of these provisions constitutes unfair competition. This bill would require an operator of a platform to, among other things, allow a parent or guardian to create an account or profile for that person's child who is under 13 years of age. The bill would, beginning on or before June 1, 2023, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the Attorney General to conduct an annual audit of platforms to determine compliance with specified state and federal law.