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ARTICLE · 05 AUGUST 2026

Children’s Privacy Mid-Year Update: Key Legislative Developments And Emerging Trends For Businesses

Mayer Brown
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State legislatures are driving a complex patchwork of children's privacy and online safety regulations across the United States, with 21 states enacting social media laws and 26 states implementing age-verification requirements for harmful content. As litigation becomes a critical gatekeeper determining which enacted laws actually take effect, businesses face a rapidly shifting compliance landscape that extends far beyond traditional COPPA frameworks into prescriptive restrictions on platform design, algori

United StatesPrivacy
Amber C. Thomson
Amber C. Thomson
Howard W. Waltzman
Howard W. Waltzman
Megan P. Von Klein
Megan P. Von Klein
Evan Han
Evan Han
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The landscape of children’s and teens’ privacy and online safety regulation continues to evolve at a rapid pace. In the absence of comprehensive federal legislation, state legislatures are driving a patchwork of privacy protections, spanning age verification mechanisms, social media restrictions, addictive design prohibitions, and data minimization requirements. Meanwhile, litigation is emerging as a critical gatekeeper determining which of these enacted laws actually take effect. This Legal Update summarizes the key mid-year legislative developments and emerging trends that businesses should continue to monitor. For an in-depth review of the privacy landscape for children and teens, please see our previous Legal Update.

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This Mayer Brown article provides information and comments on legal issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters discussed herein.

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