Meta, Google and TikTok sue California to block law shielding children from addictive algorithms
Meta, Google and TikTok sued California on Wednesday, accusing the state of unlawfully trying to take over the role of editor, curator and parent in deciding what young people see online.The tech mammoths each filed separate federal lawsuits against state Attorney General Rob Bonta seeking to block Assembly Bill 1709, a law Gov.Gavin Newsom signed Sept.
10 that bars social media platforms from offering so-called “addictive features” to users under 16.The law is set to take effect Jan.1.All three companies argue the law violates the First Amendment by dictating how they select and display content.They also say it is preempted by federal Section 230 protections and overrides parents’ choices while ignoring controls the platforms already offer, according to the filings reviewed by the California Post.The state law covers personalized feeds, autoplay and any other feature the attorney general deemed “addictive.”Under the law, platforms must verify users’ ages and delete the accounts of anyone under 16 unless those accounts are stripped of such features.The attorney general or local prosecutors can seek penalties of up to $50,000 per affected minor for knowing violations and $25,000 for negligent ones.AB 1709 goes further than a 2024 state law, SB 976, which barred personalized feeds for users under 18 without parental consent.
The new law offers no such exception.All three companies are already challenging SB 976 at the Ninth CircuitMeta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, framed the case as a fight over who controls online speech.“The First Amendment protects the editorial judgments of those who curate, display, and disseminate speech — whether newspapers, parade organizers, or social media platforms,” the company wrote in its complaint, filed in the Northern District of California.
“California Assembly Bill 1709 (the ‘Act’ or ‘AB 1709’) is California’s latest attempt to flout that fundamental principle and appoint the State as...