Google, Meta and TikTok filed separate federal lawsuits on November 4, 2026, challenging California’s AB 1709. The law restricts covered platforms from giving users under 16 addictive features, but it allows those users to keep or create accounts when the features are withheld. The companies argue that the law violates free-speech protections and Section 230. Reuters reported the filings.
For a user under 16, the law’s key condition is whether the platform provides covered addictive features.
Three companies filed in three California cities
Reuters reported that Google, Meta and TikTok each brought a separate challenge in federal court. Their reported filing locations were San Jose, San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.
| Company | Filing location |
| San Jose | |
| Meta | San Francisco |
| TikTok | Los Angeles |
How AB 1709 treats accounts for users under 16
California’s law applies to covered platforms and users under 16 who live in the state. It bars those platforms from providing addictive features to those users and requires reasonable measures to prevent access to them. The statute names addictive feeds and autoplay among the features it covers; it defines an addictive feed around recommendations based on information about a user or device, subject to statutory exceptions. The enrolled text of AB 1709 sets out the restriction and its exceptions.
The law does not require a blanket ban on under-16 accounts. A platform may let a user create or keep an account if it withholds all addictive features from that user. Otherwise, the statute provides for deletion of the account and associated personal information.
Governor Gavin Newsom approved AB 1709 on September 10, 2026. The law is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, unless a judge blocks or voids it.
Age checks and enforcement
Before providing an addictive feature, a covered platform must verify the user’s age through the process in the Digital Age Assurance Act. If that process cannot verify the user’s age, the platform must use the age determination described in the Health and Safety Code. AB 1709 does not name government-issued identification as the required method.
Only the California attorney general or a local public prosecutor may bring a civil enforcement action. The maximum penalties are $50,000 per affected minor for a knowing violation and $25,000 per affected minor for a negligent violation. Courts consider factors including the platform’s size, the severity and duration of the violation, and good-faith compliance.
What the companies argue
Google, Meta and TikTok contend that AB 1709 intrudes on their editorial choices and violates the First Amendment and Section 230. Those are the companies’ arguments in their lawsuits. In Reuters’ filing-day account, the California Attorney General’s Office said it was reviewing the cases.
