The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit correctly rejected rules requiring online businesses to opine on whether the content they host is 'harmful' to children, and then to mitigate such harms. This ruling supports free speech and privacy rights, sending a message to legislatures about writing laws that respect constitutional protections. However, it also noted that the age-verification provision still requires scrutiny, as it potentially infringes on the First Amendment rights of both children and adults.
The court provided a helpful roadmap to legislatures for how to write privacy-first laws that can survive constitutional challenges, emphasizing the need to balance children's safety with the fundamental rights of free speech and privacy. The Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, while aiming to protect young users online, raises critical concerns regarding free expression, particularly in its heavy-handed approach to content moderation and age verification.
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