{"id":214814,"date":"2026-02-18T06:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T11:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/february-18-state-ags-ramp-up-privacy-enforcement-as-coppa-nears\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T06:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T11:35:11","slug":"february-18-state-ags-ramp-up-privacy-enforcement-as-coppa-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/february-18-state-ags-ramp-up-privacy-enforcement-as-coppa-nears\/","title":{"rendered":"February 18: State AGs ramp up privacy enforcement as COPPA nears"},"content":{"rendered":"

February 18: State AGs ramp up privacy enforcement as COPPA nears<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/meyka.com\/blog\/february-18-state-ags-ramp-up-privacy-enforcement-as-coppa-nears-1802\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-02-18 06:05:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: meyka.com<\/a><\/p>\n

On 18 February, we see data privacy regulations tighten in the United States as state attorneys general step up actions ahead of the 22 April COPPA compliance deadline. Strict state laws, including Maryland\u2019s MODPA and Rhode Island\u2019s no\u2011cure approach, now move into active enforcement. For Australian portfolios with exposure to ad\u2011tech, gaming, health media, and data brokers, we expect higher compliance costs and disclosure updates. We will track how data privacy regulations change guidance, margins, and legal reserves in 1H 2026.<\/p>\n

Why US privacy enforcement matters for Australia<\/h2>\n

The 22 April COPPA compliance deadline focuses attention on child data, in\u2011app consent, and ad targeting. State attorneys general are increasing probes and settlements across a patchwork of US state privacy laws. Recent legal analyses show more states finalising rules and moving to penalties, which raises cross\u2011border risk for Australian firms with US users source.<\/p>\n

We see near\u2011term legal and cost risk for ad\u2011tech, gaming, health media, and data brokers. Australian companies that collect minors\u2019 data, sensitive health data, or location data will need tighter controls to meet data privacy regulations. Expect updates to privacy notices, consent flows, and vendor contracts. Watch for slower product rollouts as teams prioritise audits, retention limits, and appeal processes.<\/p>\n

Key laws to watch in 2026<\/h2>\n

Maryland MODPA enforcement targets sensitive data, youth protections, and limits on targeted advertising. Companies must justify data collection and apply strong data minimisation. We expect firms to expand data maps, age\u2011gating, and opt\u2011out signals. For investors, Maryland MODPA enforcement may lift operating costs in 1H 2026 and increase the chance of consent orders if controls lag data privacy regulations.<\/p>\n

Rhode Island\u2019s privacy law includes no cure period before enforcement, which can speed penalties for violations. This raises stakes for firms that rely on ad signals…<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February 18: State AGs ramp up privacy enforcement as COPPA nears https:\/\/meyka.com\/blog\/february-18-state-ags-ramp-up-privacy-enforcement-as-coppa-nears-1802\/ Publish Date: 2026-02-18…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":214815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/blog-meyka-wordpress.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/featured_image-8552.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-214814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-privacy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214814"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214814"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":214816,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214814\/revisions\/214816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}