But this time they say it’s not going to be struck down by the courts as unconstitutional, really and truly, cross their hearts. A federal court has temporarily blocked California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act of 2022, ruling in favor of challenger NetChoice on free speech grounds. What is called the Maryland Kids Code, sponsored by Del. Sara Love (D-Montgomery), has similar aims and would bar various common online design features when aimed at kids, including video auto-play and frequent notifications. From the NYT:
(The New York Times and the Student Press Law Center filed a joint friend-of-the-court brief last year in the California case in support of NetChoice, arguing that the law could limit newsworthy content available to students.)
NetChoice has similarly objected to the Maryland Kids Code. In testimony last year opposing an earlier version of the bill, Carl Szabo, NetChoice’s vice president and general counsel, argued that it impinged on companies’ rights to freely distribute information as well as the rights of minors and adults to freely obtain information.
Maryland lawmakers say they have since worked with constitutional experts and amended it to address free speech concerns. The bill passed unanimously.
Unanimously! The legislators must be awfully confident the constitutional issues were fixed. More from NetChoice, asking Gov. Moore to veto the measure, here.
“We are technically the second state to pass a kids code,” said Delegate Jared Solomon, a Democrat who sponsored the children’s code bill. “But we are hoping to be the first state to withstand the inevitable court challenge that we know is coming.”
Oh, so it’s “hoping,” which may or may not be the same thing as “awfully confident.” We’ll see.
Free State Notes 