Law / United States / 
Maryland
HB 603 / SB 571, Maryland Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (Kids Code)
Md. Code, Com. Law §§ 14-4801 to 14-4813 (Subtitle 48), 2024 Md. Laws ch. 461
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What follows is LexLint's own research summary of this law, not legal advice.
In force since 1 October 2024.
An age-appropriate design code rule binding private bodies.
As of 15 July 2026.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Requires online products reasonably likely to be accessed by children under 18 to set high default privacy settings, complete data protection impact assessments, and avoid data practices harmful to children. A First Amendment and federal preemption challenge by NetChoice survived a motion to dismiss in November 2025 and is proceeding without an injunction.
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionNo
Penalties
Civil penalties up to $2,500 per affected child for each negligent violation and $7,500 per affected child for each intentional violation, with a 90 day cure period.
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Maryland Division of Consumer Protection, Office of the Attorney General.
Litigation
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- Docket
- NetChoice v. Brown, No. RDB-25-0322
- Posture
- Motion to dismiss denied November 24, 2025; NetChoice was granted leave to file a second amended complaint in April 2026; case proceeding in district court, no injunction in place as of this date.
What it reaches
Age threshold
18
Who checks it
Audit expectation
continuous
Who audits it
Self
Where the report goes
Kept, Produced on request
When LexLint raises it
serves_minors
Read the law
official Maryland Code statute text
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.