Google, Meta and TikTok sue California to block law protecting children from addiction risk

Law bans social media platforms from providing minors features such as autoplay that lead to compulsive use

Google, Meta and TikTok have sued California to block enforcement of ⁠a new state law intended ⁠to limit the risk of addicting children under 16 to social media platforms.

The law, known as Assembly Bill 1709, prohibits such platforms from offering underage children “psychologically exploitative features” that could lead to compulsive use, such as providing ⁠personal recommendations and sending videos through autoplay features. It also requires the deletion of children’s accounts with those features.

In separate lawsuits on Wednesday, Google, Meta and TikTok said the law wrongly compels them to honor California’s preferred means of ⁠presenting content to children and substitutes the state’s judgment for that of parents.