Vermont

Vermont Kids Code pushes for internet safety

Published

2 years ago

February 6, 2024

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Pending legislation aims to keep kids safe and protect their privacy online.

The Vermont Kids Code, a bill brought to the house and senate, mirrors initiatives taken by many other states in the country. It would ensure that companies are designed to keep children’s best interests in mind.

The bill would limit the collection of kids’ data, prohibit profiling kids, stop persuasive designs, and put all default settings on high privacy. It also says companies must mitigate foreseeable risks and ensure there aren’t features challenging kids’ well-being. The lawmakers say consumers wouldn’t notice a difference with these features added.

Bill sponsors Senator Kesha Ram-Hinsdale and Representative Monique Priestley say ideally, there would be federal regulation about the internet.

Samantha Rivera is a nanny for two kids and says they find a good balance between using websites like YouTube for education and entertainment, but also keeping track of what else pops up.

“There’s some things that pop up that look kid-friendly, and it ends up being very violent,” she said.

It’s tricky areas like this and targeted advertisements that make a lack of privacy online a concern for some.

Senator Kesha Ram-Hinsdale, who has co-sponsored the legislation, says that she would create effective regulation.

“We are accelerating into a very new digital reality. And in the past, when we were young, I think we essentially missed the window to regulate in a way that was effective,” Ram-Hinsdale said.

Lawmakers have noted that the UK has recently implemented similar laws. As a result, YouTube turned off autoplay, Google has SafeSearch on default for users under 18, and Instagram and TikTok both disabled messaging between children and adult strangers.

“These are companies and entities that know how to protect people if that’s requested,” said Ram-Hinsdale.

The internet and social media can impact kids both positively and negatively, according to child psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Schlozman.

“We do know from advertising, a little bit on the internet and more so in other forms of media, that this stuff reaches kids, that this stuff changes kids’ behavior,” Schlozman said.

He notes that historically and now, we have always been a step behind the technology we create because of how rapidly it changes.

“It’s very hard to keep kids off the internet. So we have to be wary of what laws we make, even if we’re putting the onus on the platform developers as opposed to the kids, it’s still very hard to enforce those laws,” he said.

While federal and state officials look to internet regulation, Schlozman says parents have to do the work with their children, discussing screen time and the responsibilities that go with having access to the internet.

“The Kids Code is actually really trying to preserve, it’s really cutting down the middle, saying let’s turn on failsafe rather than not having it on. You can still bypass them, but you’ve got to take a beat to think about it, taking a beat allows your frontal lobe and get involved. If your frontal lobe gets involved, then you’re not acting like an impulsive teenager anymore. You’re acting like a thoughtful teenager,” Scholzman said.

The legislation comes just after a lawsuit to sue Meta for intentionally designing addictive and harmful products. It was filed by Vermont’s attorney general as well as 40 other states.

Vermont

74-year-old woman fulfills childhood dream as EMT at fair in Vermont

Published

10 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

74-year-old woman fulfills childhood dream as EMT at fair in Vermont

ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. (Aging Untold) — For 10 days, the Champlain Valley Fair, a county fair in Vermont, becomes its own little town with thousands of people, hot afternoons and the occasional emergency.

Charlene Phelps, 74, runs the fair’s emergency response team.

“We have a lot of seniors that come and people don’t drink enough water,” Phelps said.

The team handles sprains, bee stings, heat exhaustion and whatever comes through.

“I like taking care of people, I like helping people,” Phelps said.

Living out a childhood dream

It’s also a childhood dream.

Phelps wanted to be a nurse, but college wasn’t possible, so she found another route into care and has been showing up year after year at the fair.

Aging Untold expert Amy O’Rourke said living out your purpose can improve mental and spiritual well-being.

“When you tap into that, you’re tapping in on a place that’s a risk, that’s a challenge that inevitably creates growth inside you, gives you confidence so that if you’re in another situation you can build on that,” O’Rourke said. “Or, if you’re in an everyday situation where you’re a little anxious, it’ll help create stabilization in that place as well.”

Saving lives at the fair

Sometimes it’s bigger than a bandage.

“Over on there near the swings way over there is Gustovo, and we saved his life,” Phelps said.

Gustovo had gone into cardiac arrest at the fair a few years ago.

“I mean he was gone,” Phelps said.

Now he’s back and working the rides.

“Came for my hug, Gustovo,” Phelps said.

O’Rourke said stories like this are also why some people keep working past retirement age. Purpose isn’t a number, it’s a role.

“I’ve seen a 92-year-old still working as a nurse’s aid. I’ve seen people in my neighborhood chilling out and loving it,” O’Rourke said. “So, I think it’s being really self-aware of what you need and making sure that you’re getting those needs met.”

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Vermont

Vermont lawmakers reject digital lottery initiative – Valley News

Published

22 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Vermont lawmakers reject digital lottery initiative – Valley News

A plan by Gov. Phil Scott’s administration to make all of the state’s lottery games, including scratch-off tickets, available on a person’s phone never got off the ground at the Statehouse this year.

Lottery Commissioner Wendy Knight told lawmakers in January that the plan was a way to modernize the lottery “because you need to keep pace with technology — you need to meet your players where they are.”

Fifteen states have created a “digital” lottery system, and many have discovered there’s a distinct market of people who don’t buy lottery tickets at retail outlets but will do so on their phones, according to Knight. “We’re trying to ensure the future of the Vermont Lottery, ” the commissioner said.

But state lawmakers have not been persuaded.

Vergennes Rep. Matt Birong, the Democratic chair of the House government operations committee, said members of the panel felt this year was not the time to move forward with this plan, especially given the recent legalization of sports betting.

“It is digitizing a current system and after moving forward with the sports wagering — people just wanted to take their time with it — so my committee decided to tap the brakes on further testimony.”

The administration estimated that the plan would have raised roughly $5 million a year for the state’s education fund after two years of implementation.

The prospect of that additional revenue is appealing to lawmakers, and Birong said they may reconsider the plan next year.

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