A U.S. district court judge approved an agreement by the parties Tuesday delaying California AG Rob Bonta (D) from enforcing certain provisions of the state’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act until at least April 5. NetChoice is challenging the legislation in court.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) filed an answering brief in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday, reiterating that the bill regulating kids’ social media feeds at the center of the case is constitutional, and that plaintiff NetChoice failed to compile a record showing how the legislation would impact platforms -- including those of NetChoice members -- across the internet.
NetChoice renewed its motion to stay district court proceedings Tuesday in a case about California’s SB-976, a social media law that the association alleges undermines free speech and privacy principles and leaves Californians at risk of data breaches and identity theft (see 2501060009).
The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) on Tuesday opposed a motion by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) to dismiss a challenge to a kids social media bill. CCIA said Moody’s objections are meritless and focus more on the way the complaint is organized, rather than its content.
The U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee denied NetChoice’s motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on a law limiting kids’ access to social media accounts. NetChoice’s claims of irreparable harm are at odds with its delay in filing motions for relief, the court said Friday.
The federal government’s failure to act on children and teens’ online safety and privacy was called out in a Thursday hearing in Washington state's Senate Business Committee. Supporters of a bipartisan bill to protect minors online said that job is now up to the states.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should direct a lower court to enjoin California’s 2024 law (SB-976) restricting social media feeds for minors, consumer privacy advocates and free-market groups said in amicus briefs filed Thursday (case 25-146). As it urged the appeals court to reverse the U.S. District Court for Northern California, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) raised privacy concerns about requiring companies to conduct age verification.
A privacy expert who worked on Maryland's age-appropriate design code (AADC) said she hopes it can better withstand legal challenges than the California version of the law.
Judges for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared split during oral argument Tuesday in NetChoice v Fitch, which deals with a Mississippi kids online safety law. NetChoice sued Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) last year over HB-1126, alleging that it violates the First Amendment and that its age-verification requirement poses privacy problems (see 2501310041).
NetChoice fired back at the Mississippi Attorney General Friday for attempting to reverse a preliminary injunction on a children’s online safety law, arguing that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in NetChoice v. Paxton has no bearing on an ongoing case in the state. AG Lynn Fitch (R) on Wednesday filed a letter to the 5th U.S. Circuit urging that it rule against an injunction, as it did in the Paxton case.