As the Maryland Kids Code’s landmark protections for children and teens online came into effect today, The Tech Oversight Project Executive Director Sacha Haworth issued the following statement:
“Maryland’s success enacting the Kids Code and putting these critical new protections for kids into practice today shows that parents, kids, communities and lawmakers can unite to confront Big Tech industry pressure – and win. Today’s landmark win for youth safety online shows that momentum is on our side. Now it’s time for Congress to finish the job and pass a strong Kids Online Safety Act into law, so kids and families all across the country can rely on basic protections like those that came into effect today to keep 1.4 million kids in Maryland safer and to improve their experiences online.”
Background
Even in the face of record Big Tech lobbying and rampant industry spending on lobbying to fight state kids’ online safety bills across the nation, states this year began to break through the obstructionism, buoyed by broad public support for action. Legislatures in Maryland and Vermont both passed their Kids Code bills unanimously, and Governor Wes Moore signed the Maryland Kids Code into law on May 9.
The Big Tech lobby poured at least a reported $1 million into lobbying against online safety bills in states including Maryland, Vermont, and New York, and recent reporting notes that “at least a dozen tech trade groups that engage at the state level, serving as a force multiplier for their member companies who often also have their own lobbying teams … the groups are waging battle as lawmakers have increasingly sought to tackle issues such as consumer data privacy (and) children’s online safety.”