Antitrust Suit Against Apple, Proposed Ban on ‘Mommy Run’ Social Media Accounts in MN & More

DOJ and State AGs Sue Apple over iPhone Practices

The U.S. Department of Justice and the attorney’s general of 16 states filed a lawsuit accusing Apple of violating antitrust laws by engaging in practices designed to keep iPhone customers from switching to competing devices and stifle competition from app developers and rival companies. If successful, the Justice Department could seek to break up the company. But the suit draws on the successful antitrust challenge to Microsoft’s dominance in desktop software in 1998, and the current market for the iPhone looks much different from the market for Microsoft’s Windows operating system 26 years ago. (NEW YORK TIMES, REUTERS, CNBC)

MN Lawmakers Seek to Ban ‘Mommy Run’ Social Media Accounts

Companion bills introduced in Minnesota (HB 3488 and SB 3496) would ban social media accounts that profit from photos and videos featuring children under the age of 14. As introduced the measures would only have made Minnesota the second state after Illinois to require parents who profit from such accounts to share a portion of those proceeds with their children. But after The New York Times ran a series of reports revealing the level of parental involvement with some of those accounts—sometimes called “mommy run accounts”—and the exploitation of some of the associated children, the sponsors of the measures amended them to ban such accounts altogether.

The bills would allow children 14 and over to have and profit from their own social media account or be included in a parent’s account, if 30% of the earnings from that account are set aside for the children in a trust. (MINNPOST, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)

CA Lawmakers Seek to Make Social Media Companies Pay for Harm to Children

A bill introduced in California (AB 3172) would set statutory damages for online harms to minors proven in court at $5,000 per violation, up to a maximum of $1 million per affected child. The measure is backed by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that provides age-based media ratings and which has supported previous tech accountability efforts. (SACRAMENTO BEE, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)

TN Enacts ELVIS Act Protecting Musicians from AI

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed first-in-the-nation legislation (HB 2091) aimed at protecting musicians and songwriters from having their voices replicated by artificial intelligence. The Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act, or ELVIS Act, which takes effect July 1, will make anyone who uses AI or other technology to recreate a person’s image, likeness or voice without their permission subject to civil liability. The governor said the law was a “blueprint...for other states across the country to follow suit.” (PLURIBUS NEWS, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET))

As we’ve previously reported, most states have either introduced or enacted legislation related to AI in the past twelve months. AI continues to be a pressing issue for state lawmakers this year, potentially introducing a host of challenges for businesses. And we don’t foresee that changing any time soon. That is why LexisNexis® State Net® would like to offer you 30 days of AI legislative and regulatory alerts for free.*

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—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK

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