Today, Big Tech giants Google and Meta funded yet another lawsuit through the NetChoice Litigation Center to stop the bipartisan, unanimously-passed Maryland Kids Code from going into effect. The Maryland Kids Code provides landmark protections for children and teens online. Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of The Tech Oversight Project, issued the following statement:
“The biggest social media companies in the world are swooping into Maryland with deep pockets and phony arguments to block reasonable safety measures that will protect 1.4 million kids and save lives. NetChoice may be the brand behind the effort, but make no mistake, this lawsuit was bought and paid for by Meta, Google, X, Snap, and Amazon. Big Tech and their CEOs are directly responsible for endangering innocent children through their predatory designs and relentless legal war on kids’ safety. We are confident the will of Maryland’s people will prevail in court, and we will continue to fight Big Tech tooth and nail to establish basic protections for America’s young people and their families.”
Background on NetChoice’s War on Kids:
- In 2023, NetChoice launched a litigation center to funnel unlimited sums of money from its members, including Google, Meta, Amazon, Snap, and X, into lawsuits that would block or unwind popular and bipartisan online safety measures for minors.
- NetChoice and its Big Tech members launched the litigation center to protect the $11 billion a year tech platforms make from profiting off U.S. kids and their data.
- NetChoice’s staff has repeatedly attempted to deceive lawmakers. In Maryland, former Chief Counsel Carl Szabo lied and failed to identify his role as NetChoice’s chief counsel while testifying in the General Assembly. Despite being paid by Google, Meta, and Amazon, he chose to identify as a Maryland parent.
- According to a New York Post story, the Big Tech lobby poured at least a reported $1 million into opposing state kids’ online safety bills, including the Maryland Kids Code.
- According to Bloomberg, NetChoice has used its war on kids’ online safety to funnel more money into the dark-money trade group – growing its coffers from just over $3 million in 2020 to $34 million in 2022.
- In 2024, NetChoice President DelBianco said, “Parents need to go upstairs and take the f—ing phone away,” when asked about his clients’ dangerous product designs.
- Last year, between lawsuits and lobbying, NetChoice fought Kids Code and age-appropriate design code measures in California, Maryland, New Mexico, Vermont, and Minnesota.
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