Children’s Privacy in 2026: From Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban to a Shift Beyond Notice-and-Consent in the United States
Recent developments in children’s privacy and online safety regulation reflect a global shift away from notice-and-consent frameworks toward access restrictions, design mandates, categorical advertising prohibitions, and ecosystem-level age-assurance mechanisms. Using Australia’s under-16 social media ban as a case study, this article examines four converging regulatory trends emerging across the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. These developments increasingly affect product design, advertising, and data governance decisions for companies operating consumer-facing digital services.
The Legal Battles Taking Shape in the Clash Over Internet Content
A federal law known as Section 230 has provided a powerful legal shield for internet companies for nearly three decades. Designed to “promote the internet,” it protects platforms from civil liability for content posted to their sites by third parties.
Section 230’s Original Intent Offers Touchstone for Online Safety
As Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act nears its 30th year since enactment, debate rages on in Congress and in the public as to whether and how it should be changed or perhaps scrapped altogether.
