Despite technology recording a woman's activity on a shopping site, that wasn't enough for her to claim a concrete privacy injury, an appeals court ruled as it dismissed her class-action suit. Celebrating the decision, advocacy groups said merely invoking the word "privacy" doesn't necessarily equate to a legitimate claim.
NetChoice Lawsuits
NetChoice lawsuits involve a series of high-profile legal challenges brought by the tech industry trade group NetChoice against state laws regulating online content moderation and user data practices. The group has sued states including Texas and Florida, arguing that their social media laws violate the First Amendment and conflict with federal protections for online platforms. These cases, now before federal appeals courts and potentially the U.S. Supreme Court, could set sweeping precedents for how states can govern digital platforms’ handling of speech, privacy, and user data.
Bluesky's decision to block Mississippi IP addresses from its social media platforms highlights the inefficiencies and problems that come with age-verification laws, said consumer privacy and tech industry officials. After the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the state age-verification law to stand last week (see 2508140048), Bluesky announced its response in a statement Friday (see 2508220047).
The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) fails to establish how federal law preempts a state social media law that would prohibit kids 13 and younger from creating social media accounts, Florida argued Thursday in asking a federal court to dismiss some of the organization's amended complaint in case 4:24-cv-00438.
A bevy of entities, including advocacy organizations and media groups like the New York Times, filed amicus briefs earlier this week that blasted California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC) Act for infringing on privacy and First Amendment rights, with some saying the statute reigns in nearly every form of online content including news sites.
A Florida social media law that would prohibit children 13 and younger from creating social media accounts is content-neutral and furthers governmental interests in protecting them from online harms, said a bipartisan coalition of 27 states and Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
NetChoice lacks standing to challenge the Ohio Social Media Parental Notification Act, nor does the law violate the First Amendment, said Attorney General Dave Yost (R) in a brief filed Tuesday. He asked the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse an April decision by the U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio to enjoin the law (see 2504180031).
Since Arkansas has amended a social media safety law that is being challenged in court, the case should be dismissed, Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) said Monday. He asked the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to toss case 25-1889 as moot, and vacate the district court decision that permanently enjoined the statute at the end of March (see 2504010044).
NetChoice lacks standing to bring a suit against Maryland's Age-Appropriate Design Code (MAADC) Act and it hasn't sufficiently pleaded its facial claims, Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) said in a court document Friday. The AG again requested that a federal court dismiss the trade association's suit, which argues that the kids code law is unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed a Mississippi age-verification law to stand Thursday, denying NetChoice's emergency application that would have blocked the measure.
Mississippi's attorney general asked the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to let stand a state law that requires parental consent for those younger than 18 to create accounts with certain digital service providers. AG Lynn Fitch (R) argued that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which on July 17 allowed the previously-enjoined law to go into effect with a stay on a lower court's injunction, had "compelling, independent merits grounds for issuing the stay."