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Teens Get Online 'Eraser Button' With New California Law
Kathleen MilesSep 24, 2013
California teens get an online "eraser button" under a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday.

The law makes California the first state to require websites to allow people younger than 18 to remove their own postings on that website, and to clearly inform minors how to do so.

"Kids and teens frequently self-reveal before they self-reflect," Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, told The Huffington Post. "In today's digital age, mistakes can stay with and haunt kids for their entire life. This bill is a big step forward for privacy rights, especially since California has more tech companies than any other state."

The law is meant to help protect teens from bullying, embarrassment and harm to job and college applications from online posts they later regret. In a 2012 Kaplan survey of college admissions counselors, nearly a quarter said they checked out applicants' social networking. Of those counselors, 35 percent said what they found -- including included vulgarities, alcohol consumption and “illegal activities” -- negatively affected applicants' admissions chances.

Major social media sites -- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine -- already allow users of any age to delete their posts, including photos and comments. California's "eraser button" law will require this policy for all websites with users in the state.

The new law also prohibits youth-oriented websites or those that know they have users who are minors from advertising products that are illegal to underagers, such as guns, alcohol and tobacco. Websites will not be required to delete re-postings by a third party of the minor's original post.

Opponents of the law said it will burden websites with developing policies for different states. Proponents said they hope the law spreads.

The law, SB568, was authored by state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).

"This is a good business practice that should filter through the industry," Rhys Williams, Steinberg's press secretary, told HuffPost. "These companies are keen to avoid bad press just as parents are keen to avoid bad attention toward their children." In 2011, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) introduced a similar bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, called the Do Not Track Kids Act. It died in committee.

The new California law -- supported by Common Sense Media, Children NOW, Crime Victims United, the Child Abuse Prevention Center and the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence -- goes into effect Jan. 1, 2015.

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This is the biggest waste of time ever. The law infant worth the toilet paper it's written on. There is ABSOLUTELY no way to implement this.
Edit:
How many 's is this on the scale?
[Edited 9/24/13 17:12pm]

Timmy84 said:

Next on their list....eradicate cockroaches. And im FROM CA.

BobGeorge909 said:

Timmy84 said:

Ah, California... never ceases to amaze me with their peculiarness.

Next on their list....eradicate cockroaches. And im FROM CA.

Oh for real? That's their next law? LOL I feel bad for ya man. Seriously.

Timmy84 said:

Oh...i dont know..i was just kidding

i wonder how retroactive it is.

a lot of these lil kids can benefit from it that are just 21 or so.

let's face it, people nowadays raise more idiots with less parental

control. so yeah... let them correct their mistakes, the real idiots

won't even bother to try...

BobGeorge909 said:

Timmy84 said:

Oh for real? That's their next law? LOL I feel bad for ya man. Seriously.

Oh...i dont know..i was just kidding

Ah OK. But I wouldn't be surprised if that's next lol

PurpleJedi said:

So...ok...;let's not try and teach our children to act & behanve in a proper manner or else deal with the repercussions...let's make it so like their stupidity never happened.

Yeah...THAT will breed better adults.

Isn't that what was said about abortion being legal, though?

The teen years are transitioning years...lots of stupid decisions and false starts during that time, all of which are valuable in that they help us learn and grow. However, I don't really have a problem with kids not having those stupid mistakes haunt them for years.

Thats great and a...my inky question is how is something like this implemented

I wonder if something exists that can perform this function. I bet someone could make a bunch of $$ if they developed some sort of proxy site that you use to do all your online activity, where at any point, you can choose to wipe it all out in one clean sweep!

Brilliant!!!

Cinny said:

An eraser button could help a lot of folks online, including me

ain't that the truth?!

Cinny said:

An eraser button could help a lot of folks online, including me

I thought you said that those nude shots where tastefully done? I guess not!

TD3 said:

Cinny said:

An eraser button could help a lot of folks online, including me

ain't that the truth?!

kewlschool said:

Cinny said:

An eraser button could help a lot of folks online, including me

I thought you said that those nude shots where tastefully done? I guess not!

"ARTSY"

Cinny said:

TD3 said:

I thought you said that those nude shots where tastefully done? I guess not!

"ARTSY"

Oh, you did some "ARTSY" picture... where they at?