A federal judge has put the brakes on a California law designed to shield children from harmful online content, ruling that it likely violates free speech rights.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted a preliminary injunction against the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, siding with trade group NetChoice, which represents major tech companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, and Netflix. The group argued that the law would effectively force them into the role of government censors.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office expressed disappointment, vowing to fight for what it calls “common-sense protections” for children online. The law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022, would have required companies to assess and mitigate potential risks to young users before launching their platforms. It also mandated stricter privacy settings for minors, with penalties reaching $7,500 per violation.
Freeman, however, found the legislation overly broad and burdensome, stating that it wasn’t narrowly crafted to address its intended goals. “A regulation that focuses on the emotive impact of speech is content-based,” she wrote, concluding that the state failed to prove the law met constitutional standards.
This isn’t the first legal setback for the measure—Freeman had previously blocked it in 2023, though a federal appeals court later ordered a reconsideration. With this latest ruling, the future of the law remains uncertain, as the battle between state regulators and tech giants continues.
