Meta, Google and TikTok challenge California teen platform rules
Platforms seek to block California’s AB 1709
Meta, Google and TikTok have filed separate lawsuits against California Attorney General Rob Bonta seeking to stop AB 1709, a state law targeting social-media features deemed addictive for users under 16. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the measure in September, and it is scheduled to take effect at the start of the new year.
AB 1709 would prohibit social platforms from providing autoplay video and personalised feeds to users under 16. If a young user does not turn those features off, the law requires the platform to delete that account. A company that fails to comply could face fines of up to $50,000 for each affected under-16 user.
Constitutional and platform-design arguments
Meta argues that the statute violates the First Amendment by overriding its editorial decisions about how content is displayed. It also contends that Section 230 pre-empts the California measure. TikTok and Google have advanced similar arguments in their own challenges.
In its filing, Meta said its feeds currently include personalised content recommendations and automatically played media. It argues that the act would make dissemination of speech to minors unlawful unless Meta changes those practices, and would require the company to delete minors’ accounts where the features remain enabled.
TikTok called AB 1709 an unconstitutional restriction on free expression and said content curation based on user preferences is a protected practice also used by bookshops, television networks and streaming services. Google said autoplay on YouTube is already disabled by default for minors and noted that parents can disable a teen’s access to Shorts.
Privacy and parental-control concerns
The litigation arrives amid wider efforts to curb teen social-media use in pursuit of improved mental-health outcomes. Digital safety experts have cautioned that such rules can create privacy risks if compliance depends on age-verification systems that collect more information from all users, including adults.
Rindala Alajaji, associate director of state affairs at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said AB 1709 would compel platforms to gather more information from every user, undermining privacy and online anonymity. She also argued that a functional ban for under-16s could restrict young people’s access to information, experiences and digital activism.
The companies are confronting comparable disputes internationally. Australia became the first country to ban social media for users under 16 in December 2025, while France passed a similar law that its top court later struck down over free-expression concerns. Bonta’s office said it is reviewing the filings and remains committed to defending California’s online child-protection laws.
Business implication
For businesses operating platforms or youth-facing digital services, the cases underline the need to map how recommendation systems, autoplay, parental controls and age assurance interact before state rules take effect, while preparing for legal, privacy and product-design requirements that may diverge across markets.