Indiana recently amended its breach notification law to include age verification information collected by adult websites as personal information. This amendment reflects the state’s effort to broaden protections around sensitive data, particularly for users of adult sites. The law aims to ensure that websites handling such data maintain stricter security protocols.
Alongside this amendment, Indiana passed a new law requiring adult websites to verify the age of their users using “”reasonable”” methods. This regulation also creates a private right of action for parents whose minors manage to access these websites. The aim is to protect minors and hold adult sites accountable for ensuring age restrictions are enforced.
However, the age verification law has been challenged in court, with critics arguing that it violates First Amendment rights. As a result, the law has been temporarily blocked, pending further legal review. The court case highlights the tension between protecting minors and upholding free speech rights in the digital realm.
While the data breach amendment remains unaffected by the legal challenge, its impact may be limited. It only applies to adult websites, and these sites currently do not collect the age verification data covered by the amendment. Nonetheless, Indiana’s actions reflect a growing trend among states to continuously refine their data breach notification laws.
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