NetChoice Advances Free Speech Challenge to Maryland ‘Kids Code’

NetChoice’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Maryland’s online safety law for kids can advance, but the statute can remain in effect for now, a federal judge ruled.

NetChoice plausibly alleged First Amendment issues, Judge Richard D. Bennett, of the US District Court for the District of Maryland, said Monday. But Maryland’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, or Kids Code, which requires covered websites to consistently monitor features that children are likely to access and determine if they’re acting in the kids’ best interests, can remain in effect pending discovery and further analysis.

Many groups that collect personal consumer data in some ...