Ninth Circuit Issues Mixed Ruling On California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act

Highlights

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit partially upheld and partially vacated an injunction against California's Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (CAADCA), a mixed result that leaves the novel law's future uncertain.
• The court invalidated certain obligations on the grounds that key statutory terms – "materially detrimental," "best interests" and "well-being" – were unconstitutionally vague. These terms appear in other states' design code laws, potentially opening new avenues for challenge nationwide.
• The ruling narrows CAADCA's scope but revives certain design requirements – such as age estimation and most protective privacy settings for children by default – that may prove operationally burdensome for covered businesses.