Hello and welcome to Tech Brief. I’m your host, and today we’re talking about Nebraska’s new Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act. Signed by Governor Jim Pillen, this law targets features on major social platforms that keep kids scrolling. Platforms must now offer a chronological feed instead of an algorithmic recommendation one, and they’ll have to pause potentially disruptive notifications at night and during school hours. Kids—and their parents—will also have the option to set voluntary time limits and to block certain categories of recommended content.

Under the law, companies must apply strict privacy settings to users identified as minors by default, collecting only the “minimum” amount of data, blocking targeted ads, and eliminating dark patterns. Critics, led by the tech trade group NetChoice, argue this could “impose age verification requirements on most websites available to Nebraska users, including news sites, popular blogs, and certain online retailers,” and conflict with COPPA. Similar laws in California and Maryland face court challenges under the First Amendment.

Nebraska’s design code takes effect January 1, 2026, and violators could face fines up to $50,000 per violation starting July 1 of that year. That’s today’s update—thanks for listening.
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