The three biggest names in your kid’s pocket have gone to court together, sort of. Google, Meta and TikTok each filed their own federal lawsuit this week, all aimed at stopping a California youth social media law before it takes effect on January 1, 2027.
If you have a teenager, this one touches your house. The law would end the endless scroll, autoplay and personalized feeds for anyone under 16. That covers the nation’s biggest state, and every other state is watching.
What the California youth social media law actually does
The law is Assembly Bill 1709, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it on September 10. According to wire coverage of the filings, it bars personalized feeds, endless scrolling and autoplay for kids under 16.
There’s a catch for the companies. Platforms that serve those features to under-16 users must delete those accounts. They must also delete the personal information tied to them. In other words, flip the switch off or lose the kid.
The companies filed the lawsuits Wednesday, November 4. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is the only defendant. Meta and Google, which also filed for YouTube, went to federal court in the Northern District of California. TikTok filed in Los Angeles, in the Central District, as Breitbart reported.
The companies say the First Amendment protects their feeds
They’ve leaned on the same argument for years: how a feed is organized is protected speech. A Meta spokesperson put it this way: “We are challenging this law because it violates the First Amendment by letting the government dictate how ideas are organized, displayed, or shared with Californians.”
Meta also argues the autoplay limits are unconstitutional. It says the kids social media law unfairly exempts streaming services and review sites like Yelp. TikTok went further, calling the law a “blatantly unconstitutional restriction on free expression,” per TheWrap. TikTok adds that the rules apply even when parents say yes.
Google took the parent route. “We believe parents are best positioned to make the right decisions for their families,” spokesperson José Castañeda said. He pointed to Google’s parental tools.
Here’s the thing: nobody is on one side
Don’t expect a clean hero and villain. The Electronic Frontier Foundation opposes the law and called it “a massive privacy and free speech nightmare.” Critics argue it works like a near-total social media ban for teens, according to CalMatters.
On the other side, the Electronic Privacy Information Center backs the California teen social media law. It says courts have been rejecting the industry’s claim that the First Amendment shields it from accountability. The bill’s author, Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal of Long Beach, said the suit “comes straight out of Meta’s playbook.”
So who decides what a 15-year-old’s feed looks like: the platform, the parent or Sacramento? Reasonable people land in all three places.
Why the California social media addiction law keeps ending up in court
This is not California’s first swing. A 2024 law, SB 976, barred personalized feeds for users under 18 unless parents consented. AB 1709 goes further.
The mood has also shifted. Earlier this year, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for a child plaintiff’s social media addiction. In September, TikTok settled with Alabama for at least $100 million over addictive features. Australia became the first country to ban social media for under-16s in December 2025, as TechCrunch noted.
Big business keeps testing the courts, too. Microsoft, for one, reportedly passed on a Texas expansion just before a $35 billion IPO.
What happens next for the California youth social media law
The clock is the story. Unless a judge voids or pauses it, the California youth social media law starts January 1, 2027. The companies will therefore need a preliminary injunction before then. Nobody has reported a hearing date.
Bonta’s office said Thursday it is reviewing the suits. It added, “Our office is committed to defending California’s commonsense laws to protect kids online.”
For another fight over rules and money, see how frozen accounts cost Paraguay’s president his job.
Expect the next eight weeks to be loud. Whoever wins in San Francisco and Los Angeles writes the rulebook for every state that wants to copy California, and your teen’s feed is the test case.
