Heads up developers and site creators. There may be a new thing coming towards you from California’s list of privacy related regulations. There’s a new California law, SB 568, that is supposed to make sure that California minors below the age of 18 have the right to delete “a post”.
“Minor” means a natural person under 18 years of age who resides in the state.
The new law takes effect on January 1, 2015, and it imposes onto “an operator of an Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application directed to minors” a requirement as follows:
Permit a minor who is a registered user of the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application to remove or, if the operator prefers, to request and obtain removal of, content or information posted on the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application by the user.
and
Provide clear instructions to a minor who is a registered user of the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application on how the user may remove or, if the operator prefers, request and obtain the removal of content or information posted on the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application.
There are some who have voiced concerns over the actual impact of this law and the exact requirements it imposes onto operators. As with COPPA it might bring an unwanted side effect of operators effectively barring minors from participating in their activity. As always, the development and the adaptation of these laws will show with time. But keep this change in mind and prepare for it accordingly.
