The Governor Gavin Newsom warned that it will “vigorously” defend California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, a first-in-the-nation child privacy law to protect the well-being, data and privacy of children using online platforms.
"I was proud to sign the bill last year to put California's children first, and now I'm ready to vigorously defend it," Newsom said in a statement responding to a recent lawsuit led by the tech industry to block the law.
“As a father of four and the governor of the nation’s most populous state, I am passionate about our state’s efforts to lead this fight for children’s online privacy. No other state is doing more than California to protect children – shielding them from harmful data mining, violent content, and automated GPS tracking that allows adults to track children,” he added.
In mid-December 2022, tech industry group NetChoice filed a lawsuit to block the law signed by Newson in September 2022, which requires tech companies to adopt new policies to protect children and their privacy online.
The landmark bipartisan legislation aimed at protecting the well-being, data, and privacy of children using online platforms AB 2273 establishes the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, which requires online platforms to consider the best interests of child users and prefer privacy and safety environments that protect children’s mental and physical health and well-being.
AB 2273 prohibits companies that provide online services, products, or features that are accessible to children from using a child's personal information; collecting, selling, or retaining a child's geolocation; profiling a child by default; and directing or encouraging children to provide personal information.
The bill also requires that privacy information, terms of service, policies and community standards be easily accessible and respected, and requires responsive tools to help children exercise their privacy rights.
This bipartisan legislation strikes a balance between protecting children and ensuring that tech companies will have clear rules that allow them to continue to innovate.
However, NetChoice said in its lawsuit that the law violates the First Amendment, arguing that tech companies have the right under the Constitution to make “editorial decisions” about what content they publish or remove.
The law, which will come into effect in 2024, would force companies to "serve as roving censors of online speech," they say, leading to "excessive moderation" of online content.
At the time, the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that "We are reviewing the complaint and look forward to defending this important child safety law in court."
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