Google, Meta, and TikTok have filed separate lawsuits against California over Assembly Bill 1709, a state law that restricts addictive social media features for children under 16. The complaints, filed Wednesday, argue that the law violates the First Amendment and conflicts with Section 230. The law is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1709 on September 10 as part of a broader package covering social media and AI chatbot safety.

What California's AB 1709 Restricts

AB 1709 targets three features that the law defines as "psychologically exploitative features":

personalized feeds endless scrolling autoplay videos Platforms covered by the law must also take reasonable steps to verify the ages of their users. California's goal is to stop companies from using features designed to keep children scrolling after they meant to put the phone down.