A federal appeals court on Thursday threw out much of an injunction that had blocked California from enforcing a state law meant to shield children from social media and other online content that could harm them mentally or physically.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the trade group NetChoice was unlikely to prove that the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act was unconstitutional on its face, violating the First Amendment rights of members, opens new tab such as Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab, Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab, Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab and Elon Musk’s X by turning them into censors.
California has said the 2022 law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom would serve its compelling interest in protecting children from bullying, harassment, sexual exploitation and other harms.
Circuit Judge Milan Smith wrote for a three-judge appeals court panel that it was reasonable for businesses to expect children to access their online platforms, adding that the California law applied “evenhandedly” by covering platforms “likely to be accessed by children.”