Tech Group Sues To Block Maryland Kids Code


The tech industry group NetChoice on Monday sued to block Maryland's Age-Appropriate Design Code, which would require online businesses to assess whether new features could harm users under 18, and would also restrict online businesses' ability to collect data from minors.

The statute, enacted last May, “imposes an unconstitutional and unlawful regime that will fundamentally reshape how websites speak to their users and how Americans access information online,” the group says in a complaint brought in U.S. District Court in Maryland.

The complaint includes claims that the design code violates the First Amendment and is inconsistent with the federal children's privacy statute.

Unless enjoined, one provision slated to take effect next year would require online businesses to evaluate whether a new product likely to be accessed by children is “designed in a manner consistent with the best interests of children.”

advertisement

advertisement

That mandate is similar to one California lawmakers attempted to impose in the Age-Appropriate Design Code, which was largely blocked in court.

“The Act’s fundamental flaw is its central command: requiring websites to analyze and restrict protected expressive content based on whether state officials might later determine such restriction would serve the 'best interests of children' -- an inherently subjective standard that provides little meaningful guidance to websites and invites discriminatory enforcement,” NetChoice writes in its challenge to Maryland's law.

“This vague mandate will force websites to over-restrict speech and self-censor to avoid crushing penalties,” the group adds, noting that the law provides for fines of up to $7,500 per minor, per violation.

NetChoice also says that the law's privacy provisions -- which prohibit web companies from processing data that isn't needed to provide services minors are engaging with -- would impair businesses' ability to curate content and make recommendations.

The law restricts “a range of commonplace online speech, including engaging with users to learn their preferences; using collected information to curate content; providing users recommendations about books, movies, newspaper articles, and other content; or even potentially sending automated email updates to users,” NetChoice writes.

“Websites like online news services or sports services employ information they collect from users to present those users with the articles and other content that users might find most useful,” the group adds. “For instance, a sports website may prioritize content about individuals’ favorite sports teams. And a news service may highlight areas of particular interest for individual users.”

NetChoice argues the statute violates the First Amendment by limiting companies' “rights to collect and use information for the purposes of curating, recommending, and delivering protected speech to users.”

The group also says the law is inconsistent with the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits web companies from knowingly collecting personal data of children under 13, without parental consent.

NetChoice writes that Maryland's restrictions on collecting data from teenagers under 18 conflicts with Congress's decision to regulate companies' ability to collect data from children 12 and younger.

Next story loading loading..