Court blocks California’s online child safety law
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the CAADCA last year. | Photo by Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A federal judge has granted a request to block the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (CAADCA), a law that requires special data safeguards for underage users online. In a ruling issued today, Judge Beth Freeman granted a preliminary injunction for tech industry group NetChoice, saying the law likely violates the First Amendment. It’s the latest of several state-level internet regulations to be blocked while a lawsuit against them proceeds, including some that are likely bound for the Supreme Court.
The CAADCA is meant to expand on existing laws — like the federal COPPA framework — that govern how sites can collect data from children. But Judge Freeman objected to several of its provisions, saying they would unlawfully target…
