Jonathan Stempel
March 12 (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected the majority of an injunction that would have prevented California from enforcing a state law aimed at protecting children from social media and other online content that could harm them mentally or physically.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said trade group NetChoice is unlikely to prove that the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act is unconstitutional on its face and violates the First Amendment rights of members like Amazon, Google, Meta Platforms, Netflix and Elon Musk’s X by turning them into censors.
The state said the 2022 law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom would serve the state’s compelling interest in protecting children from bullying, harassment, sexual exploitation and other harm.
Circuit Judge Milan Smith wrote for the three-judge appeals court panel that it is reasonable for businesses to expect children to access their online platforms, adding that the California law applies “discriminately” by covering platforms that “may be accessed by children.”
The Pasadena, Calif.-based panel also said NetChoice was unlikely to show that a requirement requiring businesses to estimate the ages of child users was invalid on its face.
Still, it agreed with NetChoice that the law’s restrictions on companies’ use of personal data that could harm children’s physical health, mental health or well-being, and the use of “dark patterns” to collect that data, were too vague to be enforceable.
The law defines “dark mode” as user interfaces designed to subvert or impair user autonomy, decision-making, or choice.
Networks choose to pressure opposition
California has been appealing the injunction issued in March 2025 by U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman in San Jose, California.
Before NetChoice filed its challenge, an appeals court partially upheld an injunction issued by Freeman in August 2024 against California law. It returned the case to Freeman for further proceedings.
“We look forward to fully demonstrating and permanently repealing California’s speech code,” NetChoice attorney Paul Taske said in a statement.
The state’s Attorney General, Rob Bonta, called Thursday’s decision a “critical victory” in keeping children safe on social media.
“Let me be clear: the safety of our children cannot wait, and we will not let tech giants profit from our children,” Bonta said in a statement.
California law also requires businesses to create reports about threats to children on their online platforms and take steps to reduce risks before publishing. Civil penalties may be up to $2,500 per child for negligent violations and $7,500 per child for willful violations.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, William Maclean and Aurora Ellis)