Kids' 'right to be forgotten' bill
California lawmakers are advancing a bill to give children a form of 'right to be forgotten' over content posted by influencer parents — signaling shifting expectations for handling minors' digital footprints. That trend dovetails with calls for updated school data‑retention and deletion policies. (capradio.org) (countercurrents.org)
Senate Bill 1247, introduced by Sen. Steve Padilla (D–San Diego), would let people who appeared in paid family‑created content as minors request deletion or editing of that material once they turn 18. (capradio.org) The measure would require the account holder who profited from the content to comply within 10 business days or face civil penalties of $3,000 per day and exposure to a private right of action. (capradio.org) SB 1247 directs social platforms to provide a user‑facing process for such requests, while Padilla’s office has said the technical design of removal or editing tools would be left to companies to implement. (sd18.senate.ca.gov) The bill builds on California’s recent slate of influencer protections — including AB 1880 and SB 764 enacted in 2024–25 that extended Coogan‑style safeguards and required portions of child influencers’ earnings to be set aside. (capradio.org) Legislative momentum in other states has produced similar rules: Utah, Illinois and Minnesota have each passed measures in the last few years addressing compensation and later removal or deletion pathways for children featured in family vlogs. (abcnews.com) Advocates and education experts say the expanding legal focus on minors’ online images is renewing calls for schools to update retention and deletion schedules, noting FERPA has not been statutorily updated to reflect today’s student data flows. (the74million.org) The federal Student Privacy resource hub publishes guidance and training for K‑12 data retention and destruction, including a July 2, 2025 resource on data‑retention and deletion practices schools should follow. (studentprivacy.ed.gov)
