Social media companies sue California over new law restricting use for children

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Set us as preferred Technology companies Google, Meta and Tik Tok sued the state of California on Wednesday to block a new law that restricts companies from targeting children younger than 16 with “addictive” social media content that can keep them scrolling for hours.Assembly Bill 1709, introduced by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), bars social media sites from providing features such as autoplay and recommended content displays to teenagers and young children.

The social media companies, which filed separate lawsuits in federal court, cited their 1st Amendment right to free speech and the Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from being sued over content posted by third parties.Meta Platforms, as well as Google and YouTube, filed lawsuits in the Northern District of California.

TikTok filed in the Central District.California’s attempt to “appoint the State as the editor, curator and controller of online speech” and “override Meta’s editorial judgment about how to curate and display these billions of posts of third-party speech,” violates the U.S.Constitution, attorneys for Meta wrote in its lawsuit.

The technology company owns Instagram, Facebook and Threads.A representative for Atty.Gen.

Rob Bonta said his office was reviewing the litigation.The legal action follows successful lawsuits brought against the tech giants by California and others that have resulted in massive civil settlements.At the same time, the tech industry continues to file legal challenges to block state efforts to rein in social media companies.Lowenthal said earlier this year he was inspired to seek more safeguards for social media users, citing the anxiety and depression among children who grew up with access to cellphones, tablets and computer screens.The addictive nature of autoplay and other...