Google, Meta and TikTok sue California over law designed to protect
children from social media harms
[November 06, 2026] By
BARBARA ORTUTAY
Google, Meta and TikTok filed separate lawsuits seeking to block a
California law designed to protect children from the risks of social
media, arguing that it violates their First Amendment rights.
The law, which is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, prohibits
tech companies from offering addictive feeds, endless scrolling and
autoplayed videos to kids under 16. They must also implement “reasonable
measures” to make sure those under 16 are not given access to the
addictive features by verifying users' ages. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it
into law in September.
The companies each filed their lawsuits in federal courts in San
Francisco, Los Angeles and San Jose, California. In addition to the
First Amendment, TikTok, Meta and Google argue that the law violates
Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which shields tech
companies from liability for material posted on their sites by third
parties.
The lawsuits come as tech companies face increasing scrutiny over their
platforms' harms to children, including thousands of lawsuits by
schools, governments and individual plaintiffs.
In August, Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion and add stronger
child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms as part of
a landmark legal settlement that ended a trial over teen social media
addiction and settled claims filed by nearly every state. The settlement
resolved a pivotal case years in the making that sought to hold the tech
giant accountable for the role its platforms played in undermining
children’s mental health. The effort targeted features designed to hook
young people’s attention. In September, TikTok settled with Alabama over
addictive features.
The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the defendant in
each of the lawsuits, said Thursday it was reviewing the filings and
that it was committed to defending state laws to protect kids online.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at the Bay Area Discovery
Museum, Sept. 10, 2026, in Sausalito, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu,
File)
 TikTok called the law “a blatantly
unconstitutional restriction on free expression that erodes the
long-standing and protected practice of curating content based on
user preferences, which bookstores, TV networks and streaming
services all use.”
The company said it has implemented numerous safety measures for
kids on its platform, adding that beyond “disregarding real progress
in making teens safer online, this law limits free speech and takes
away parents’ rights to determine what’s appropriate for their
kids.”
Meta said the law violates the First Amendment “by letting the
government dictate how ideas are organized, displayed, or shared
with Californians.”
“Under the law, we would be forced to either remove features that
keep teens’ experiences age-appropriate, or cut thousands of
California teens off from family, friends, and their communities,”
the company said in a statement.
Google said it believes parents are in the best position to make
decisions for their families and that it offers a range of parental
control tools and protections.
“Overly broad laws like this actually break the systems we’ve built
to help kids find high-quality, age-appropriate videos,” said
spokesman José Castañeda.
—
Associated Press Writer Sophie Austin contributed to this story from
Sacramento.
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