Committee hears bill to bar sale of children’s location and sensitive data; drafters asked to clarify COPPA and scope

The Children and Family Law Committee took testimony on House Bill 1460, a proposal to prohibit sale of location and other sensitive data regarding children.

The prime sponsor was not present; a member introduced the bill and urged technical questions be held until the sponsor or cosponsor could provide details. The introducer said the bill is short and aimed at preventing companies from selling identifiable child data gathered from apps and platforms.

Betty Gay reviewed draft language and recommended tightening the text to cite age limits and to tie processing of known children’s data to COPPA (the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act). "To me, it's a good idea," Gay said of the proposed addition to the state privacy code, but she urged the committee to specify age boundaries and to make sure the new provision fit logically within RSA 507-H.

Members asked whether the bill would eliminate parental ability to consent (COPPA generally vests parental consent rights for children under 13) and whether the draft only addresses sale of data versus other kinds of sharing. Representative Mark Martel said he would support specifying an age (members discussed 13 as a likely cutoff), and committee members flagged PowerSchool and school-vendor data-sharing as areas to check.

Why it matters: Committee members said they want to stop commercial sale of children's location and sensitive data while avoiding unintended interference with legitimate school data uses or parental choices. Members asked the sponsor to provide drafting intent, scope and whether penalties or enforcement mechanisms are included.

Next steps: The chair asked the absent prime sponsor to email the committee background materials and to attend executive session for further drafting. No vote was taken at the hearing.