Social media companies sue California over law restricting use for children over addiction claims

Technological giants Google, Meta and TikTok sued California on Wednesday over a new law that would impose restrictions on companies targeting children younger than 16 with “addictive” social media content that can keep them scrolling for hours.

The new law bans social media platforms from providing features such as autoplay and recommended content displays to teenagers and young children, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The three companies, which filed their lawsuits separately, defended their platforms and cited free speech rights protected under the First Amendment. They also cited the Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from being sued over content posted by third parties.

Google, which owns YouTube, said it has already restricted some features for minors on its platform, including preventing videos from automatically playing on a child account and allowing parents to disable its short-form video feed.

“We believe parents are best positioned to make the right decisions for their families, which is why we offer a range of protections and tools that put parents in control,” José Castañeda, a Google spokesman, told the New York Times.

The lawsuits come after the social media company Snapchat reached a settlement in a related case earlier this week, after two teens accused the company of designing the platform to be addictive, causing their depression, anxiety and eating disorders.

The new law, which was signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, will go into effect on January 1.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.