Tech group sues California over kids’ online safety law

Tech industry group NetChoice on Wednesday sued California over a kids’ online safety law, arguing the measure that aims to ramp up privacy protections for minors online would “hobble” free speech. 

NetChoice, which names tech giants Google and Meta among its members, said in a complaint the California Age Appropriate Design Code would “harm” rather than protect minors and pressure online businesses to “over-moderate content” in attempts to avoid penalties for the law in a way that will restrict information for users of all ages.

The complaint also alleges the law’s requirement to verify the ages of users will “frustrate anonymous and casual browsing” and “magnify privacy concerns.”

The lawsuit is the latest effort from the tech group against state laws, passed in lieu of Congress, taking action to create federal regulation in the tech space. NetChoice is also part of lawsuits against Republican-backed laws in Texas and Florida that seek to keep companies from removing users or content over political ideology, which they say impedes companies’ ability to moderate content in line with their policies. 

Wednesday’s complaint targets the kids’ safety law California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed in September. The law puts limits on the type of data tech companies collect on minors and calls for companies to set the highest default privacy settings for young users.

A spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said “we are reviewing the complaint and look forward to defending this important children’s safety law in court.

“As children spend more of their time online, the California Age-Appropriate Design Code provides critical new protections over the collection and use of their data and works to address some of the real and demonstrated harms associated with social media and other online products and services,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

NetChoice slammed the law at the time of its signing, indicating legal action could follow. 

But the law has been cheered by children’s online safety advocates that have been pushing for lawmakers to take action to update online safety and privacy laws for minors as younger generations increasingly use online technologies.

–Updated at 2:12 p.m.