Google, Meta and TikTok sue California to block law protecting children from addiction risk
Google, Meta, and TikTok have filed suit against California to stop enforcement of Assembly Bill 1709, a state law that bans social media platforms from using features like autoplay and personalized recommendations with users under 16, and requires deletion of children's accounts under certain conditions.
Why this matters: Three of the most powerful platforms on earth are spending money in court to keep feeding algorithmically optimized content to kids. That is worth being direct about. California is trying to ban specific design choices — autoplay, endless recommendations — that engineers built to maximize time on screen. The platforms argue that is a First Amendment issue. Parents and kids would probably call it something else. The legal fight will determine whether states can regulate how products are engineered, not just what they say.
Who should care: Lawyers · Privacy officers · Compliance
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