Google, Meta and TikTok Sue to Block California’s New Youth Social Media Law
Google, Meta and TikTok filed separate federal lawsuits challenging California’s Assembly Bill 1709, a law restricting addictive online features for children under 16. ABC7 and Reuters, published by GMA News, reported the filings Thursday.
By the Bay Area Brief staff · Edited by Seamus McKenna · · 2 min read
Phillip Burton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco. Photo: Marincyclist / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped, resized and color-graded). Archive photo of the area; not a photo of the events in this story.
Google, Meta and TikTok filed separate federal lawsuits challenging California’s Assembly Bill 1709, a law restricting addictive online features for children under 16. ABC7 and Reuters, published by GMA News, reported the filings Thursday.
The law is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2027. It targets features including personalized recommendations and autoplay and requires measures to keep younger users from accessing the restricted features.
The companies argue the law violates the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office told ABC7 it was reviewing the filings and remained committed to defending laws protecting children online. Filing suit does not itself block a law; that requires a court order or other legal action.
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