Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a civil investigative demand into MediaLab.AI Inc., owner of the Kik Messenger app, over lax age assurance practices, content moderation, and child safety failures that advocates have dubbed a "predator's paradise." The action follows a July 2025 notice of violation under the Connecticut Data Privacy Act for privacy notice deficiencies and processing sensitive data — including health, biometric, and precise geolocation data — without proper consent, which the company has only partially addressed. The new investigation seeks records related to practices that may constitute unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the CTDPA and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. No fine has been imposed to date.
The Attorney General has issued a new civil investigative demand requiring MediaLab to produce comprehensive information and records related to its data processing, content moderation, and age assurance practices. No monetary penalty or injunction has been imposed yet, but the company previously received a July 2025 CTDPA notice of violation that it has only partially remedied despite repeated inquiries.
In-house teams at companies operating messaging apps, social platforms, or any service used by or marketed to minors should audit user-facing agreements and internal policies for age-related consistency: the press release flags that MediaLab marketed Kik as appropriate for users 13+ even after claiming to restrict new users to 18+, and did not update its Terms of Service or privacy notice age restrictions until 2025 — so review Terms of Service, privacy notices, and app store rating representations for alignment. Vendor and data processing agreements should be checked for clauses governing sensitive data categories (health, genetic, biometric, precise geolocation, sexual orientation) to ensure proper opt-in consent is obtained before processing under the CTDPA, and for consumer rights mechanism obligations (notice accuracy, opt-out functionality). Contracts with content moderation, age assurance, and ad-tech vendors should be reviewed for minimum safety standards, effectiveness audit rights, and cooperation obligations in response to state AG civil investigative demands. Finally, companies with outstanding notice-of-violation remediation timelines should ensure corrective commitments are documented and enforceable in vendor and compliance agreements.
Entity
MediaLab.AI Inc.
Industry
Social Media"09/08/2026"
"MediaLab.AI Inc. (“MediaLab”)"
"today announced an investigation into MediaLab.AI Inc."
"first issued a notice of violation under the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA) to MediaLab in July 2025"
"in violation of the CTDPA and Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act"
"the processing of sensitive data without first obtaining proper consent, including data related to race or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, health, sex life or sexual orientation, genetic data, biometric data, and precise geolocation data, among other violations"
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of states and local governments in filing suit against NHTSA over its rule weakening fuel economy standards for new passenger cars and light trucks. The lawsuit alleges the rule violates the agency’s statutory mandate and the Administrative Procedure Act; no penalty or final remedy is reported.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a multistate coalition suing the EPA over its repeal of greenhouse gas pollution limits for power plants and separately filed a notice of intent to sue over regulation of existing gas plants. The coalition asks the court to overturn the repeal and restore the protections; the release reports no monetary penalty or final order.
$400.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a $400 million settlement with Sandoz Inc. and Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. resolving allegations that the generic drug manufacturers conspired to inflate prices, limit competition, and restrain trade. The settlement includes consumer restitution and injunctive reforms; court approval was being sought.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter opposing a DHS rule that allows certain affirmative asylum applications to be referred to removal proceedings without an asylum officer interview. The coalition argues the rule violates federal law and harms asylum seekers, including unaccompanied children; this was a policy opposition letter, not a privacy enforcement action.
Connecticut and Massachusetts co-led a coalition protest urging FERC to reject the proposed NextEra Energy-Dominion Energy merger. The coalition argued that the merger could increase market power and threaten energy affordability, reliability, and competition; the release does not report a final enforcement decision or penalty.
Connecticut officials warned residents about potential home improvement scams before an approaching nor’easter, including unlicensed contractors, high-pressure sales tactics, and demands for full payment upfront. The release provides consumer guidance on checking contractors and contract requirements; it does not announce an enforcement action or penalty against a named entity.