Meta, Google and TikTok each filed a federal lawsuit on November 4 against California Attorney General Rob Bonta to stop AB 1709, a new law on how platforms serve users under 16. It bars autoplay and personalized feeds for that age group and is set to take effect on January 1. The cases are at the very start, so advertisers should plan for either outcome.
What the law requires
TechCrunch reports that AB 1709 stops social platforms from offering autoplay videos and personalized feeds to users under 16. If those features stay on, platforms must delete the accounts of those users. Fines run up to $50,000 per affected user under 16, which is why the companies are treating this as a product threat and not a compliance footnote.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill in September. Its author, Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal, has defended it publicly, and Bonta's office says it will defend the state's laws protecting children online.
What the companies are arguing
The three suits were filed separately, according to KQED: Google in San Jose, Meta in San Francisco and TikTok in Los Angeles. All rest on the First Amendment and on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Meta's filing says the law "would make it unlawful for Meta to disseminate speech to minors altogether," as quoted by TechCrunch. A TikTok spokesperson called it a "blatantly unconstitutional restriction on free expression." Google pointed out that YouTube autoplay is already off by default for minors.
Critics outside the industry are raising a second issue. Santa Clara law professor Eric Goldman objects to mandatory age authentication for adults and minors alike, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation says the law means more data collection from every user. The dispute lands after Meta agreed in August to pay up to $18 billion to settle state claims.
Why media buyers should track it
None of the coverage we read discusses advertising, and we could not access the bill text itself, so what follows is our reading and not a stated effect of the law. Feed and Reels placements sit inside the kind of personalized feeds the law targets. If Meta has to rebuild the under-16 experience in California, or remove those users, that audience could shrink or behave differently in the state. Age checks that touch every user would be the wider change, because they could add friction at sign-up. Neither effect is confirmed.
It also matters beyond one state. A ruling either way will be read closely by other governments working on teen rules, and Meta is already facing similar pressure in Australia.
What to do now
Nothing changes in your account today. Watch for a request to pause the law before January 1, since that decides whether Q1 starts under the new rules. If you sell to younger audiences, pull an age and region breakdown now so you have a baseline for California. If your offer depends on under-18 reach, get legal advice based on the statute and not on press summaries.
What it means for you
- AB 1709 is due to start January 1 unless a court pauses it.
- Save a California age breakdown now so you can spot any shift in Q1.
- Treat audience effects as unconfirmed; the coverage does not address ads.
- Check the statute with counsel if your offer relies on younger users.
Sources
- TechCrunch: Meta, Google, and TikTok sue California AG over teen social media law
- KQED: Google, Meta and TikTok sue to block California law curbing addictive social media for kids
- Social Media Today: Meta, TikTok and Google push back on California law
