Latest news with #minorsafety
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio lawmakers introduce competing proposal for online age verification
Rep. Heidi Workman, R-Rootstown, (left) alongside Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, introducing their legislation. (Photo by Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal.) Ohio lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are concerned about protecting minors on the internet, but how exactly to handle age verification has been a bit of challenge. Now, legislators are offering competing visions for determining an internet users' age. One of those visions, backed by social media companies like Facebook parent company Meta, would put the onus squarely on app stores. Another, introduced last week, shares responsibility between the app stores and app developers. A complicated system added to the 2023 state budget was summarily rejected by federal courts earlier this year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The newest proposal, House Bill 302, is sponsored by state Reps. Heidi Workman, R-Rootstown, and Phil Plummer, R-Dayton. They describe the proposal as a way to split duties between the companies building apps and the ones providing access to those apps. An app store would act as a kind of dashboard, providing a central location for parental controls, and delivering an 'age signal' to developers so they can determine what user experience is appropriate. 'These duties reflect what app stores are uniquely positioned to do,' Workman said, 'provide infrastructure, support consistency and enable parental oversight in a scalable, privacy-conscious way.' But the work doesn't end there. 'App developers who understand the intricacies of their own platforms are responsible for implementing practical protections tailored to the risks present in their apps,' she said. Plummer said their approach ensures developers get no more information than is necessary. The bill also contains safeguards against developers sharing that age information or leveraging children's data for targeted ads. Plummer said H.B. 302 is 'structured to provide meaningful protections where they're needed, without overreaching into areas where they are not.' He also said the measure is flexible enough to respond as technology grows and changes. Part of that flexibility, however, comes from seemingly vague standards and requirements in the bill's language. Apps are only 'covered' if they offer different experiences for adults and minors. Initial determinations about a user's age come down to an estimate, the nature of which is unclear. Ohio judge permanently blocks social media age verification law Companies 'may use' tools that are 'commercially reasonable' to estimate a user's age category 'with a reasonable level of certainty proportionate to the risks that arise from access to and use of the relevant service or portion thereof,' according to the bill's language. Users who are estimated to be a minor can verify their age. The bill doesn't describe how they do so. It's a notable departure from Ohio's first stab at age verification, known as the Social Media Parental Notification Act. That measure tried to pre-determine every sort of website where adult content might be available, while drafting exceptions for news or commerce sites. When he put that law on hold, U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley called it a 'breathtakingly blunt instrument.' Marbley permanently enjoined the measure last April. Running parallel to Workman and Plummer's proposal is a competing measure sponsored by state Rep. Melanie Miller, R-Ashland, and state Sen. Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester. Miller and Reynolds want to put the responsibility for age verification and parental consent on the app store. Meta strongly supports the legislation. Ohio Republicans propose new social media age verification plan Jennifer Hanley, who heads up North American safety policy for the company told Ohio lawmakers understanding a user's age is 'fundamental' to providing age-appropriate content, but insisted that responsibility shouldn't fall on her company. 'We think the easiest, most consistent, and most privacy-protective solution is to require app stores to verify age and get a parent's approval any time a teen wants to download an app,' Hanley said. The method compares to a person buying a six-pack of Budweiser at a store – they show their ID to the cashier, not to the beer company. If app stores are a one-stop-shop for all the games, messaging and social media services a person will download, the app store, not the app company, would determine the age. But companies who operate app stores, most notably Apple and Google, are uncomfortable with carrying that much responsibility. As Plummer put it, 'app stores can provide consistent tools (and) centralized access points, but they should not be forced to manage risk they cannot fully access.' Speaking after the hearing introducing the bill, Workman acknowledged they've been working with app store companies to develop their legislation. She said they wanted to 'bring all stakeholders to the table.' Workman said those companies believe the proposal offers a workable solution, but no other state has actually implemented the provisions. Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Licking County detectives allege Newark, Etna men spoke to kids online, traded child porn
Two Licking County men face child sex crime charges, as authorities separately accuse them of having child pornography and trying to get sexual content from minors online. William W. J. Doran, 21, of Etna, and Allen L. Vanwey, 50, of Newark, each face one charge of pandering obscenity involving a minor in unrelated cases, Licking County Common Pleas Court records show, after Licking County sheriff's detectives arrested them May 29, according to a Sheriff's Office news release. Doarn posted a $100,000 bond May 30 and was released from the Licking County jail, where Vanwey remained on a $500,000 bond as of May 31, according to online court records. In a criminal complaint, detectives allege Vanwey admitted to receiving nude photos and videos of a 9-year-old to whom he spoke on a messaging app and that he traded child sexual abuse materials involving children ages 3-10 with other users for about a year. Police allege in the complaint that chat logs show Vanwey asking users identifying themselves as 9- to 16-year-old girls if they would send him photos and at one point told other users looking for similar material that he was looking for images of babies. The complaint alleges that cybertips showing accounts tied to Vanway had dozens of files containing child sexual abuse materials. Detectives also allege chat logs show Doran speaking explicitly to minors online and receiving images from them while sending some of himself. They allege he admitted to engaging in sexual conversations with another user who said they were 14 and that some of his devices would likely have child porn on them. Doran and Vanwey are each next scheduled to appear in court June 12 for their respective preliminary hearings, online court records show. In a news release announcing the arrests, the Licking County Sheriff's Office said investigators are analyzing evidence detectives collected during a search of the defendants' homes. 'The Licking County Sheriff's Office remains committed to aggressively investigating all cases involving the online exploitation of children and will continue to work closely with partner agencies to bring offenders to justice,' the news released stated. Newark Advocate reporter Josué Perez can be reached at jhperez@ This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking County detectives allege Etna, Newark men traded child porn
CNA
27-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos targeted in EU investigation
BRUSSELS :Adult content platforms Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos will be investigated for suspected breaches of EU online content law, EU regulators said on Tuesday, in a move that could lead to fines of as much as 6 per cent of their global annual turnover. The European Commission said the companies had not complied with rules requiring them to put in place appropriate measures to protect minors from adult content. They also breached rules obliging companies to take risk assessment and mitigation measures of negative effects on the rights of children and to prevent them from accessing adult content via age verification tools. "The online space should be a safe environment for children to learn and connect. Our priority is to protect minors and allow them to navigate safely online," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement. Pornhub is part of Cypriot group Aylo Freesites Ltd, XNXX is owned by Czech company NKL Associates, Stripchat is a subsidiary of Cypriot company Technius Ltd and XVideos is part of WebGroup Czech Republic. The companies were designated as very large online platforms under the Digital Services Act in 2023, which requires them to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content on their platforms. The Commission said it would drop its designation of Stripchat as a very large online platform in four months' time after its average monthly number of users fell below the DSA user threshold.
TechCrunch
23-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Apple CEO reportedly urged Texas' governor to ditch online child safety bill
Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to make changes to or veto a newly passed law in the state that would require the company to verify the ages of device owners, according to The Wall Street Journal. Abbott has yet to sign the bill. But Apple, alongside Google, has been working with interest groups to fight the legislation. Apple in particular argues that the implementation of the Texas bill could pose a threat to user privacy. The bill would mandate that, if a minor uses a device, their App Store account be tied to their parents', so that parents are notified of minors' app downloads and prompted to approve or deny them. 'If enacted, app marketplaces will be required to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it's an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,' an Apple spokesperson told the WSJ. Those in support of the bill say it will allow parents to exercise more control over the relationship between children and their smartphones. At least nine other states are looking at similar legislation. Apple managed to stop a bill from passing in Louisiana last year, although the state is now revisiting the bill.
