){kind=logo}
Only a few months after going into effect, the Nebraska Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC) has been amended. The April 17 amendments go into effect on July 17, 2026, which is a quick turnaround for companies to comply, especially since the amendments made significant changes to the act.
Below is a summary of some of the key changes:
Broadened Scope – The new amendment significantly broadens the scope of the AADC. Previously, one of the factors to meet the threshold for applicability was that the company had to derive at least 50% of its annual revenue from the sale or sharing of consumers’ personal data. That requirement has been deleted. Now the act will apply to a company that “generates a majority of its annual revenue from online services” (among other requirements). While it is a significant change, it brings the Nebraska Age-Appropriate Design Code more in line with other states.
Added Covered Design Features – Minors under the act can opt out of the use of all unnecessary covered on-line design features. Previously, covered design features included infinite scrolls, rewards or incentives for frequency of visits or time spent on the covered online service; notifications or push alerts; in-game purchases or appearance-altering filters. Now the amended definition further clarifies the existing features and expands the definition to include autoplaying video or audio; quantification of engagement (such as likes or views); gamification (such as badges or rewards for use); and a feature that increases usage through the illusion of talking with a human being that seeks to elicit feelings of intimacy from the user.
Previously, some of the requirements of the act only applied to covered design features. With the amendments, the requirements apply to the entire online service.
Prohibiting a single setting that makes all the default privacy settings less protective
Prohibiting the covered online service from requesting or prompting a covered minor to make their privacy settings less protective, unless strictly necessary to access the service
Requiring the covered service to provide a prominent, accessible and responsive tool to allow a covered minor to request his or her account be unpublished or deleted.
Given the significant expansion of the Nebraska Age Appropriate Design Code and the short turnaround time, it is likely that this AADC will be challenged like the AADCs in California, Maryland and South Carolina. If not, companies may have a lot of work to do in a short period of time to comply.
