Alabama Senate passes bills requiring device filters, app store age checks for minors
Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, speaks to colleagues on the floor of the Alabama Senate on Feb. 4, 2025 in Montgomery, Alabama. The Alabama Legislature began its 2025 regular session on Tuesday. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
The Alabama Senate approved two bills Thursday aimed at enhancing online safety for minors by requiring filters on new smartphones and tablets and mandating age verification for app store access.
Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, the sponsor of the legislation, said on the Senate floor that the bills aim to prevent children from accessing potentially harmful content online.
'They try to protect children, the most vulnerable of our society … they do it in different ways, but it's all about protecting children,' Chambliss said following the vote.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The first bill, SB 186, passed the chamber on a 28-5 vote. It would require that smartphones and tablets manufactured on or after June 1 and activated in Alabama include a pre-installed filter capable of blocking obscene material. During the device activation process, users will be asked their age and the filter will automatically be enabled if the user is identified as a minor who is under 18. Adults would be able to disable the filter using a password.
'We don't even have to come up with a solution. It's already there. It is already there. This bill is very simple. All it does is require those who manufacture these devices to turn the filter on if the device is enabled, activated for a child. That's it in a nutshell,' he said on the Senate floor, adding that smartphones are already equipped with these filters.
The bill would allow parents or guardians to sue manufacturers for damages if a minor accesses obscene material due to non-compliance, and the Attorney General would also be able to pursue civil penalties against manufacturers.
The second bill, SB 187, which passed 26-6, would require app store to verify the age of individuals creating accounts in Alabama. The app store must obtain parental consent for users identified as minors before the minor can download or purchase apps or make in-app purchases. It would also prohibit developers from enforcing disclosures or terms of service on minors without parental consent.
'This is important because children, minors are not of an age and maturity and intellect to enter into these contracts, to read and understand these contracts. They're hard enough for adults,' Chambliss said.
This legislation would require app store providers to share age category data with developers and notify parents of significant app changes, requiring renewed consent. The attorney general would have the right to pursue civil action for potentially deceptive trade practices, potentially leading to significant fines.
Chambliss said that similar legislation regarding app stores has advanced in other states, including one that was signed into law in Utah in March. Chambliss said that the Alabama bill was amended to align closely with Utah's law.
'The point is to try to make it consistent across the states, and then, hopefully, when enough states adopt it, maybe Congress will adopt it, and we wouldn't have a different law in every state,' Chambliss said.
Both bills move to the Alabama House of Representatives for consideration.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Musk bashes Trump's megabill. Will it give cover to fiscal conservatives on the Hill?
One of Trump's closest allies called his 'big, beautiful bill' a 'disgusting abomination' and called out House Republicans for voting for it. And in the Senate, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul said that at least three of his colleagues are also against the proposal in it's current form. Jeff Mason, Sam Stein and Leigh Ann Caldwell join.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Will crypto replace banking? The Trump administration can't decide
Last year, Donald Trump took the stage of the Las Vegas Bitcoin Conference to worship at the altar of cryptocurrency. He said he would fire Gary Gensler, the former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission who led a yearslong crackdown on crypto fraud. The audience roared. He ended on a rousing note: 'We will make America and Bitcoin bigger, better, stronger, richer, freer, and greater than ever before.' This company asked most corporate employees to relocate to Chicago. The majority declined Trump administration orders Pennsylvania power plant to run through the summer Redfin: These 31 major housing markets have shifted to buyer's markets Some crypto activists were perturbed. Sure, Trump rallied behind Bitcoin as a source of industrial growth, but why wouldn't he commit to outright replacing banking with digital currencies? Trump failed to comment on the traditional banks, which crypto advocates thought were discriminating against them by shutting down their accounts, or fiat currency, which some crypto boosters hope to replace entirely. One year later, President Trump skipped out on the Bitcoin Conference, but he sent his envoys. The administration's crypto message has become even more muddled. While Vice President JD Vance emphasized that stablecoins regulated by the administration's new crypto proposal (the GENIUS Act) don't 'threaten the integrity of the U.S. dollar,' Eric Trump said that he'd like to see some major banks 'go extinct.' It seems no one will decide whether crypto is a strength to—or a replacement for—the U.S. financial system. Vice President Vance headlined the conference, where he struck a similar tone to Trump's 2024 speech. He emphasized that Bitcoin is part of the 'mainstream economy,' calling it a digital asset—but not a currency. Vance also promoted the GENIUS Act, which would set regulations for currency or commodity-backed stablecoins (crypto currencies pegged to fiat currency or other reference asset) so they could flow more freely. The bill has already passed through the Senate, and is waiting for a House vote. Vance promised that these coins wouldn't threaten the dollar. 'Dollar-pegged stablecoins, particularly once GENIUS is enacted, are only going to help the American economy and [are] only going to help the American dollar,' he claimed. Central to Trump's crypto strategy was the establishment of a Bitcoin reserve, allowing the government to collect and hold cryptocurrency from criminal or civil asset seizures. But whether this stockpile operates alongside, or in competition with dollar spending remains blurry. Bo Hines, the executive director of Trump's digital assets advisory, spoke of Bitcoin as something the government could grow endlessly. 'We want as much of it as we can possibly get,' he said at the conference. 'We're not going to sell any Bitcoin that we have in the U.S. government, period.' On the other hand, Trump's crypto czar David Sacks was more measured in his words. He said that he 'can't promise anything,' but that he hoped the government would be able to buy more Bitcoin. 'If either the Commerce Department or the Treasury Department can figure out how to fund it without adding to the debt, then they are allowed to create those programs,' he claimed. 'Maybe find the money from some other program that's not using it.' While they struck different tones, Vance, Hines, and Sacks all spoke of Bitcoin as an asset class. Whether it could constitute a new financial system—the currency's original mission—was outside the question. But Eric Trump—while not an administration official, is certainly influential on Trump policy—claimed that crypto could replace banking entirely: 'It makes everything cheaper, it makes it faster, it makes it safer, it makes it more transparent.' He said that he'd 'love to see some of the big banks go extinct.' Trump has backed crypto expansion forcefully, but his rationale remains slippery. At the recent Blockworks Digital Asset Summit, Trump told the audience that they will 'unleash an explosion of international growth,' but didn't explain how, other than a brief reference to stablecoins supporting the dollar. 'It is exciting to watch as you invent the future of finance,' Trump said, while not venturing to explain whether that future included traditional banks. Why is Trump so into crypto? Much of it is likely for personal gain. Trump has raked in millions on his memecoins and NFTs, sending cash directly to his wallet. Crypto advocates also helped Trump reach the White House in the first place. Their lobby has political heft: According to a New Yorker report, they tanked Katie Porter's California Senate bid after she expressed mere glimmers of anti-crypto rhetoric. But there's a political tension underlying Trump's crypto push. If he says that crypto will replace banking—or even fiat currency—traditional financiers could riot. But, if he claims that Bitcoin is merely an asset class and not the future of finance, he could anger the crypto community. For now, Trump and his administration will try to sit on both sides of the fence. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
24-year-old city council member wins SC House race
The view of the state House chamber from the gallery on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. (File/Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CAROLINA/Specia to the SC Daily Gazette) A 24-year-old Bishopville City Council member will be the newest legislator at the Statehouse. Democrat Keishan Scott cruised to victory Tuesday over former Sumter County GOP chair Bill Oden. Scott received almost 71% of less than 3,700 votes cast in a special election for a state House seat representing all of Lee County and parts of Kershaw and Sumter counties, according to unofficial results from the state Election Commission. 'This victory is not mine alone, but it belongs to all of the people … that got out and exercised their right to vote,' Scott said to cheers at a victory speech broadcast on his Facebook speech. Scott is the youngest person to be elected to the Statehouse since Rep. Brandon Newton, a Lancaster Republican, won as a 22-year-old in 2016. But the youngest person in at least modern times to be elected to the Legislature is former Sen. Sherry Shealy Martschink. The Mount Pleasant Republican was elected to the House in 1970 during her junior year at the University of South Carolina, only 14 days after her 21st birthday. Scott, who won his first election to city council in 2023, will take over the seat vacated by Rep. Will Wheeler, a Bishopville Democrat who announced his resignation in January, just three days into this year's legislative session. His surprising resignation left the rural district without a representative for the entirety of this year's session. 'I can promise you that every day I go into the Statehouse, I will carry the people with me,' Scott, a preacher, said to the crowd moments before leading a prayer. 'Because certainly, it's about people more than politics.' The election means nothing changes with the Republicans' supermajority advantage in the House. But it does restore the number of Democrats in the 124-member chamber to 36. Wheeler ran unopposed in four of his five elections. The only time he faced GOP opposition was in 2022, when Republicans gained supermajority status in the chamber. The 2024 elections gave Republicans a supermajority in the Senate too. Oden, who recently concluded four years as head of the Sumter County Republican Party, said in a text to the Daily Gazette he 'lost tonight' but 'had a ball running.' 'God has something better in store for me,' he added. Scott's victory ensured the Democratic Party didn't lose another seat in the Statehouse. In an endorsement video posted on Scott's Facebook, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn emphasized Tuesday's election was a must win for Democrats. Electing Scott 'will be the beginning of a Democratic comeback here in South Carolina.' Clyburn said. 'Irrespective of where you live, how old you may be, whatever gender you may be, this is about the future of Democrats in South Carolina.' Lee County had issues with counting votes in November's election and recount for a state Senate race that ousted Hartsville Democrat Gerald Malloy, who ultimately conceded ahead of his scheduled challenge. The state Election Commission sent staff to Lee County to help during the primary, as well as Tuesday's special election, commission spokesperson John Catalano told the SC Daily Gazette. In April's primary, Scott defeated Carl Whetsel, a retired chiropractor and Bishopville City Council member, by 11 votes after a recount. In the unofficial count done days before, Scott only won by 10 votes. An automatic recount was required under state law since the winning margin was less than 1%. With Tuesday's landslide victory, he can officially focus on making a difference in Columbia next year. 'Your vote of confidence,' he said to the crowd, 'it means the world to me.'
