Illinois Digital Library Protection Act Advances — AAP Mounts Opposition as Library Ebook Crisis Deepens

Illinois House Bill 5236, the Digital Library Protection Act, advanced out of the House Consumer Protection Committee on March 24, 2026. The bill restricts publishers from imposing terms that prevent libraries from performing customary lending functions, including simultaneous lending and time restrictions on the same digital licence. The Association of American Publishers opposes the bill, comparing it to the struck-down 2021 Maryland law, though proponents argue the new contract-law framework — first adopted by Connecticut in 2025 — is fundamentally different and constitutionally sound.