Blogs

On September 17, 2026, the European Commission published its proposal for the EU KIDS Act (the “Act”). The Act proposes to create a harmonized EU framework aimed at strengthening protections for children online, including by limiting children’s access to social media platforms and imposing new safety obligations on providers.

On September 17, 2026, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the issuance of an exemptive order to facilitate trading in certain tokenized securities. The SEC’s “Innovation Exemption” is scheduled to expire in five years and, in the interim, is intended to promote experimentation with securities tokenization that could lead to future SEC rulemaking.

Special counsel Lorelie (Lorie) Masters was recently appointed as the chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession. Established in 1987, the Commission was created to assess the status of women in the legal sector and remove barriers to their professional advancement. As chair, Lorie will lead a 12-member roster of commissioners, and a panel of special advisers, dedicated to ensuring equal participation and systemic equity for women lawyers across the justice system and pursuing various studies to identify issues uniquely facing women in the profession, including disparate treatment, training and recruitment, parenting, and other issues. Most recently, the Commission in late July 2026 issued a groundbreaking study about issues affecting the mental health and well-being of women lawyers.

On September 10, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1709, which restricts the availability of specified addictive features on certain online platforms for users under 16 and establishes the e-Safety Advisory Commission.

Recently, the Colorado legislature sent a bill, HB 26-1210, to Governor Jared Polis’ desk that would place limitations on the use of artificial intelligence to either 1) set prices for consumers; or 2) set wages for employees.  Governor Polis vetoed the bill, citing vague and overly broad definitions in the bill’s text.  But the conduct prohibited in the bill has been the subject of numerous bills in legislatures all across the country. Retailers should take note and proceed with caution if using AI to set wages.