(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost applauds the recent passage of legislation that codifies the Tenth Amendment Center in the Ohio Solicitor General’s Office.
“The principle of federalism – the idea that power is shared among multiple levels of government instead of concentrated into a single level – is indelibly etched into the foundation of our nation through the Tenth Amendment,” Yost said. “Thank you to Rep. Jeff LaRe and Rep. Adam Bird for helping us to codify this crucial function in our office.”
House Bill 506 adds the Tenth Amendment Center to Ohio law, tasking it with actively monitoring federal executive orders, as well as statutes and regulations for potential abuse or overreach. If the Tenth Amendment Center identifies an issue, it will report it to the solicitor general – also codified in this bill – who then advises the attorney general about possible state involvement. The state solicitor general currently represents the state and its agencies on appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Ohio Supreme Court, and other state and federal courts.
Before the 134th General Assembly recently ended, HB 506 was approved by the House and amended into Senate Bill 288, a criminal justice omnibus measure. Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) sponsored the Senate measure.
Rep. LaRe (R-Violet Twp.) said monitoring for federal overreach “has become a laborious job in and of itself.”
“Federalism is a foundational piece of our U.S. Constitution,” he said. “That is why, as a member of state government, I must do what I can to protect the rights that were reserved for us under the Tenth Amendment. I am appreciative of the General Assembly’s support for HB 506, and look forward to it being signed into law in the near future.”
The legislation awaits Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost praises the recently ended 134th General Assembly for its near-unanimous approval of legislation that increases the penalty for disrupting a lawful meeting.
House Bill 504, called the Sacred Spaces Act, came after protesters loudly rushed the pulpit during a pro-life Mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral. In addition to the fear and alarm caused to parishioners at this service, the Mass was disrupted and was not able to resume until all protesters were removed from the premises by law enforcement.
“The right to assemble and freely worship is protected by both our state and federal constitutions,” Yost said. “The Sacred Spaces Act now provides an enhanced penalty when that right is violated. My particular thanks go to former Rep. Rick Carfagna and Rep. Mark Johnson for their hard work on this important legislation.”
The Sacred Spaces Act also applies to the disruption of virtual services, sometimes known as “Zoom bombings.” During the development of this bill, the Attorney General’s Office became aware of several incidents in Ohio where virtual Jewish services were disrupted by anti-Semitic shouts and imagery.
Former Rep. Carfagna (R-Genoa Township) remarked how places of worship, regardless of the religion or forum, should always remain sanctuaries free from harassment.
“I’m grateful that the legislature acted on this important bill as a final matter of legislative business, and appreciate the tenacious efforts of Attorney General Dave Yost and State Rep. Mark Johnson to get this across the finish line,” Carfagna said.
Rep. Johnson (R-Chillicothe) called HB 504 “a strong step” toward protecting a basic right for Ohioans.
“In the past few years, we’ve realized just how vulnerable our right to practice religion undisturbed is,” he said. “The state must take steps to ensure the First Amendment right to freedom of religion is never infringed upon.”
Yost said he expects Gov. Mike DeWine to sign the legislation into law “very soon.”
The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced a settlement that, if approved by a federal court, will require Epic Games Inc. (Epic Games) to pay $275 million in civil penalties as part of a settlement to resolve alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule), and the Federal Trade Commission Act. Epic Games will also be subject to a permanent injunction regarding children’s personal information that it previously collected. Epic Games is the developer of the online video game “Fortnite.”
In a complaint filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the government alleged that Epic Games designed and marketed Fortnite for use by children. The government further alleged that Epic Games possessed actual knowledge that it collected personal information from children, including their names, email addresses, and identifiers used to keep track of players’ progress, purchases, settings, and friends lists. Epic Games nonetheless failed to notify parents that it was collecting children’s personal information and to obtain verifiable parental consent for that collection, as required by the COPPA Rule.
The government further alleged that Epic Games maintained default privacy settings that were unfair under Section 5 of the FTC Act, in that the default privacy settings publicly broadcast child and teen Fortnite players’ display names and put children and teens in direct, real-time communication with adult Fortnite players.
“The Justice Department takes very seriously its mission to protect consumers’ data privacy rights,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “This proposed order sends a message to all online providers that collecting children’s personal information without parental consent will not be tolerated.”
“Parents have a right to know and to consent before companies collect their children’s personal information,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to enforcing the protections against unauthorized collection of information from consumers, particularly children.”
“As our complaint notes, Epic used privacy-invasive default settings that harmed young Fortnite players,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “Protecting the public, and especially children and teens, from online privacy invasions is a top priority for the Commission, and this enforcement action makes clear to businesses that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices.”
“This historic civil penalty, totaling over a quarter-billion dollars, lays down a marker for online service providers everywhere,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “The unauthorized collection of personal information from children online violates the law. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have a strong partnership and are committed to deterring violations.”
In a proposed stipulated order filed today, Epic Games has agreed to pay $275 million in civil penalties, the largest civil penalty ever imposed for a COPPA violation. If approved by the court, the order will prohibit Epic Games from collecting personal information from children in a manner that violates the COPPA Rule. It will also prohibit Epic Games from using children’s personal information that was previously collected unless it obtains verifiable parental consent, and imposes compliance reporting obligations upon Epic Games. Further, the agreement requires Epic Games to maintain default privacy settings that protect children’s and teens’ privacy, to delete certain personal information of children that it previously collected, and to maintain a comprehensive privacy program that protects certain personal information.
This matter was handled by Trial Attorneys Michael Wadden and Josh Fowkes and Assistant Director Lisa Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. Andrew Hasty, James Trilling, and Amanda Koulousias represented the FTC.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the FTC, visit its website at https://www.FTC.gov.
Joe Lyons •
December 20, 2022