Google, Meta and TikTok are all suing California to block social media law intended to help kids

Google, Meta and TikTok are all suing California to block social media law intended to help kids

Assembly Bill 1709 demands that platforms remove "psychologically exploitative features."

Google, Meta and TikTok are suing to block a recent California law that's intended to protect kids from some of the more harmful aspects of social media, according to Reuters. Assembly Bill 1709 is part of a larger package that Governor Gavin Newsom introduced earlier this year and it prohibits social media platforms from offering underage kids "psychologically exploitative features" that could lead to compulsive use.

This includes stuff like sending videos through autoplay and giving children under 16 personalized recommendations. The three social media giants say this is in violation of the First Amendment and Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, which has often been used to shield tech companies from liability.

The three companies filed separate suits at various courts throughout California. "The state cannot, consistent with the First Amendment, override Meta's editorial judgments," Meta wrote in its complaint. Google and TikTok made similar arguments.

Newsom said when he signed the law that children's safety should always come first when considering social media platforms in California. The state "will not stand by while unregulated technology puts our children at risk," he noted.

Some organizations agree with the social media companies here. The nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation has called the law "a massive privacy and free speech nightmare" and unsuccessfully urged Newsom to veto the policy.

While many disagree on the potential solution, there's not much of an argument to be made regarding the severity of the problem. TikTok, Meta and Google are currently fighting thousands of lawsuits by individuals, school districts, cities and government entities that all claim that social media platforms addict children and have caused a mental health crisis. To that end, many states regulate children's access to social media.

Also, Meta recently agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle a high-profile case over children's privacy and social media addiction. As part of this agreement, the company says it will make changes to its platforms to make them less addictive to young users. It still denies any wrongdoing.

Today's lawsuits are still in the early stages. We'll update you as they make their way through the California court system.