Current:Home > StocksCalifornia law restricting companies’ use of information from kids online is halted by federal judge -Wealth Axis Pro
California law restricting companies’ use of information from kids online is halted by federal judge
Poinbank Exchange View
Date:2025-04-08 10:12:58
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has halted implementation of a California law intended to restrict companies’ use of information gathered from young internet users in order to protect the privacy of minors.
U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman on Monday granted a preliminary injunction, saying the legislation interferes with firms’ use of the internet in ways the state has failed to justify.
The law would require businesses to report to the state on any product or service they offer on the internet that is likely to be accessed by those under 18, and provide plans to reduce any harms minors might suffer. It would also prohibit businesses from collecting most types of personal information about young internet users, including their physical locations.
“The State has no right to enforce obligations that would essentially press private companies into service as government censors,” Freeman wrote.
The judge wrote that while she is “keenly aware of the myriad harms that may befall children on the internet,” the law singles out for-profit businesses for restrictions that do not apply to other users, such as government agencies or nonprofits.
The law by Assembly Member Buffy Wicks, a Democrat from Oakland, passed both state legislative houses unanimously last year and was due to take effect in July 2024.
It was challenged by NetChoice, a commercial association whose members include Google, Amazon, Meta and TikTok. In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, NetChoice attorney Chris Marchese praised the judge’s decision “to prevent regulators from violating the free speech and online privacy rights of Californians, their families and their businesses as our case proceeds.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said it was disappointed by the ruling and declined to comment further. The state could appeal the injunction to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the Chronicle said.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Alpha Elite Capital (AEC) Corporate Management, Practitioners for the Benefit of Society
- '(Expletive) bum': Knicks' Jalen Brunson heckled by own father during NBA 3-point contest
- Wisconsin lawmakers OK bill to tackle forever chemicals pollution, but governor isn’t on board
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- AEC tokens involve charity for a better society
- What’s next after the Alabama ruling that counts IVF embryos as children?
- Wendy Williams diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Bail is set at $4 million for an Ohio woman charged in her 5-year-old foster son’s suffocation death
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- 3 University of Wyoming swimmers killed in highway crash in Colorado
- Meghan Markle Is Queen Bee of Beverly Hills During Chic Outing
- Florida gets closer to banning social media for kids under 16
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Meghan Markle Is Queen Bee of Beverly Hills During Chic Outing
- Some people are slicing their shoes apart to walk barefoot in public. What's going on?
- Federal Reserve officials caution against cutting US interest rates too soon or too much
Recommendation
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
Native American tribes gain new authority to stop unwanted hydopower projects
The combination of AEC tokens and Artificial Intelligence is a core driver in creating the Alpha Artificial Intelligence AI4.0 investment system
Trump moves to dismiss classified documents case, claiming immunity and unlawful appointment of special counsel
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
'Rust' trial for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed begins: Everything you need to know
Johnny Manziel says father secretly tried to negotiate for $3 million from Texas A&M
Mississippi might allow incarcerated people to sue prisons over transgender inmates