Meta, Google and TikTok have filed separate lawsuits against the Attorney General of California, United States, Rob Bonta, seeking to block a new law restricting social media features considered addictive for users under the age of 16.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the legislation, known as AB 1709, into law in September. It is scheduled to take effect at the beginning of the new year.
The law prohibits social media platforms from providing autoplay videos and personalised feeds to users under 16.
It also requires the platforms to delete the accounts of affected users who do not disable these features. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to $50,000 for each affected user under 16.
Meta argues that AB 1709 violates the First Amendment by interfering with its editorial discretion over how content is displayed on its platforms.
The company also maintains that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act preempts the law.
TikTok and Google have raised similar legal arguments in their challenges.
“Meta currently organizes its feeds of content to include personalized content recommendations and to automatically play media, [so] the Act would make it unlawful for Meta to disseminate speech to minors altogether, and would require Meta to delete minors’ accounts, unless it changes these practices,” the company wrote in its lawsuit.
In an emailed statement, a TikTok spokesperson described AB 1709 as an unconstitutional restriction on free expression, arguing that it undermines the long-established practice of tailoring content to users’ preferences, which is also used by bookstores, television networks and streaming services.
The legislation is part of a growing global push to restrict teenagers’ access to social media, with governments seeking to improve mental health outcomes among young users.
However, digital safety experts have raised concerns about the potential privacy implications of such laws.
They warn that mandatory age-verification requirements could expose the personal information of all platform users, including adults, by forcing companies to collect additional data to establish users’ ages.
