On April 13 the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection recently approved AB 2799, authored by Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park), which would protect the privacy of preschool and pre-kindergarten students on mobile devices and the Internet.

“The upside of using technology in preschools has to be balanced against the serious risk of allowing massive amounts of sensitive data to be collected about our kids,” said Assemblymember Ed Chau, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection.  ”This bill is dedicated to helping kids thrive, while also protecting their private information, by establishing safeguards in place that will clearly limit the use of that data for educational purposes only.”

In 2014, California became a national leader on student privacy protections with the unanimous passage of SB 1177 (Steinberg), known as the Student Online Personal Information Protection Act (SOPIPA).  SOPIPA went into effect on January 1, 2016, and ensures the privacy and security of personal information and educational records for children in K-12 classrooms.

Common Sense Media’s recent study, “Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America” found that technology and media use begins at an increasingly young age, with as many as 38% of kids under 2 years old using mobile devices for media in 2013. The report also found that half (50%) of all children ages 0 to 8 have used mobile apps, up from just 16% in 2011. The report cites that the most frequently used apps are educational games (43%), games that are just for fun (42%), and creative apps such as those for drawing, music, or photos (38%). For more information on the report, visit:  https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/zero-to-eight-childrens-media-use-in-america-2013.

AB 2799 (Chau), dubbed the Early Learning Privacy Information Protection Act (ELPIPA), extends the protections offered by SOPIPA to preschools and pre-kindergartens. ELPIPA imposes requirements directly on websites, online services, and mobile apps that are designed, marketed and used primarily for preschool and pre-kindergarten purposes.

Assemblymember Ed Chau represents the 49th Assembly District, comprised of the communities of Alhambra, Arcadia, El Monte, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Temple City and portions of Montebello, and South El Monte.