Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced proposed legislation to protect minors from addictive social media features. The bill would prohibit exposing minors to harmful algorithms without parental consent, set default usage limits and notification restrictions, and require annual reporting by social media companies. This follows ongoing legal actions against Meta and TikTok for youth addiction concerns.
The proposed legislation requires social media companies to implement default settings for account privacy, usage time limits (one hour per day), and notification bans between midnight and 6 a.m. Parental consent is required to alter defaults. Companies must annually report the number of minors on their platform, those with parental consent, and average usage time by age and time of day.
In-house legal teams should review contracts with social media platforms or services that may be used by minors. Check for clauses regarding minor usage, parental consent mechanisms, algorithm design, usage time limits, and notification settings. Ensure contracts comply with emerging state laws on youth social media addiction and include provisions for data reporting and default protections.
Entity
Social Media Companies
Industry
Social Media"social media companies"
"exposing minors to harmful and addictive algorithms and notifications"
$29.6M
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport joined a coalition of 48 states and territories in a $29.6 million settlement with Glenmark, a generic drug manufacturer, for allegedly conspiring to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and restrain trade for numerous generic prescription drugs. The settlement includes cooperation in ongoing litigations and internal reforms to ensure fair competition.
$29.6M
Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 48 states and territories in a $29.6 million settlement with Glenmark, a generic drug manufacturer, to resolve allegations of a widespread conspiracy to artificially inflate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade for numerous generic prescription drugs. The settlement includes cooperation from Glenmark in ongoing multistate litigations and internal reforms to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws.
$18.0M
Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 42 attorneys general in a settlement with the bankruptcy trustee for 23andMe, resolving allegations from a 2023 data breach that compromised the genetic data of 6.9 million customers. The settlement includes $150 million in allowed claims, with $18 million paid from bankruptcy funds, and requires enhanced data security measures for the new entity holding the data.
Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in suing to block the $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by Paramount Skydance Corporation. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by substantially lessening competition in theatrical film distribution and basic cable television licensing, which would harm consumers through higher prices and reduced quality.
Attorney General William Tong and 48 other attorneys general submitted comments to the FCC urging stronger rules to prevent scammers from accessing legitimate telephone numbers for illegal robocalls. The coalition is responding to the FCC's proposed rules and asks for measures such as stronger certification, reporting, and prohibitions on number cycling.
$45.0M
Attorney General Tong announced a $45 million multistate settlement with Block, Inc., the company behind Cash App, for misleading consumers about the safety of the platform, failing to protect users from fraud, and not providing promised fraud protection and resolution services. The settlement requires Block to implement major reforms including real customer support, transparent communications, and security commitments, and reaffirms Block's commitment to distribute between $75 million and $120 million to compensate consumers as part of a separate CFPB settlement.