Meta, Google, and TikTok sue California AG over teen social media law

Meta, Google, and TikTok have each filed lawsuits against California Attorney General Rob Bonta in an attempt to block a law that restricts social media features it deems addictive for users under 16. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill, known as AB 1709, into law in September, and it’s slated to take effect at the start of the new year.

Meta、Google 和 TikTok 已分别对加州总检察长罗伯·邦塔（Rob Bonta）提起诉讼，试图阻止一项限制社交媒体功能（被认为对 16 岁以下用户具有成瘾性）的法律。加州州长加文·纽森（Gavin Newsom）于 9 月签署了这项被称为 AB 1709 的法案，该法案定于新年伊始生效。

The law prohibits social platforms from offering autoplay videos and personalized feeds to users under 16, and it requires the platforms to delete these users’ accounts if they don’t turn those features off. If platforms do not comply, they could be liable for fines of up to $50,000 per affected user under 16 years old.

该法律禁止社交平台向 16 岁以下用户提供自动播放视频和个性化信息流，并要求平台在用户未关闭这些功能时删除其账户。如果平台不遵守规定，每位受影响的 16 岁以下用户可能导致平台面临最高 5 万美元的罚款。

Meta claims that AB 1709 violates the First Amendment by overriding its editorial decisions about how to display content, adding that Section 230 preempts the law. TikTok and Google made similar arguments.

Meta 声称 AB 1709 凌驾于其关于如何展示内容的编辑决策之上，从而违反了美国宪法第一修正案，并补充称《通信规范法》第 230 条优先于该法律。TikTok 和 Google 也提出了类似的论点。

“Meta currently organizes its feeds of content to include personalized content recommendations and to automatically play media, [so] the Act would make it unlawful for Meta to disseminate speech to minors altogether, and would require Meta to delete minors’ accounts, unless it changes these practices,” the company wrote in its lawsuit.

“Meta 目前组织的内容信息流包含个性化内容推荐和自动播放媒体功能，因此该法案将使 Meta 向未成年人传播言论的行为变得非法，并要求 Meta 删除未成年人的账户，除非其改变这些做法，”该公司在诉讼中写道。

In an emailed statement, a TikTok spokesperson added, “AB 1709 is a blatantly unconstitutional restriction on free expression that erodes the long-standing and protected practice of curating content based on user preferences, which book stores, TV networks and streaming services all use.”

在一份电子邮件声明中，TikTok 发言人补充道：“AB 1709 是对言论自由公然违宪的限制，它侵蚀了基于用户偏好策划内容的长期且受保护的做法，而书店、电视网络和流媒体服务都在使用这种做法。”

AB 1709 follows a trend of legislation around the world that seeks to curb teen social media use in an attempt to improve teen mental health outcomes. However, digital safety experts often caution against these laws because they can inadvertently compromise the privacy of all platform users, including adults, by requiring age verification checks that collect more user data.

AB 1709 顺应了全球范围内旨在遏制青少年使用社交媒体以改善其心理健康状况的立法趋势。然而，数字安全专家经常对这些法律提出警告，因为它们可能通过要求收集更多用户数据的年龄验证检查，无意中损害包括成年人在内的所有平台用户的隐私。

“AB 1709 compels platforms to collect even more information from every user, invading everyone’s privacy and frustrating our ability to remain anonymous online,” EFF Associate Director of State Affairs Rindala Alajaji said in a press briefing. “Online surveillance by social media companies is harmful, and yet this bill requires even more of it, further concentrating power in the hands of tech companies rather than actually protecting users.”

“AB 1709 强迫平台从每个用户那里收集更多信息，侵犯了每个人的隐私，并阻碍了我们在网上保持匿名的能力，”电子前沿基金会（EFF）州事务副主任 Rindala Alajaji 在新闻发布会上表示。“社交媒体公司的在线监控是有害的，但该法案却要求进行更多的监控，这进一步将权力集中在科技公司手中，而不是真正保护用户。”

Alajaji added that teenagers’ use of social media has been instrumental in enabling impactful digital activism, citing the Parkland shooting survivors’ March for Our Lives and climate activist Greta Thunberg’s global reach. “As a functional ban on social media for youth under 16, AB 1709 cuts young people off from essential information and experiences, silencing the very voices it claims to protect,” Alajaji said.

Alajaji 补充说，青少年对社交媒体的使用在推动有影响力的数字行动主义方面发挥了重要作用，她提到了帕克兰枪击案幸存者的“为我们的生命游行”（March for Our Lives）以及气候活动家格蕾塔·通贝里（Greta Thunberg）的全球影响力。“作为对 16 岁以下青少年社交媒体的实质性禁令，AB 1709 切断了年轻人获取重要信息和体验的途径，压制了它声称要保护的声音，”Alajaji 说。

These platforms are primed to fight this California law as they navigate similar legal battles in various countries. That’s especially true for Meta, which agreed to pay a settlement of up to $18 billion to resolve children’s safety claims brought by 29 U.S. states. In December 2025, Australia became the first country to ban social media for users under 16 altogether. France passed a similar law, but its top court struck it down, citing concerns about violations of free expression rights.

这些平台已准备好对抗这项加州法律，同时它们也在各国应对类似的法律诉讼。对于 Meta 而言尤其如此，该公司已同意支付最高 180 亿美元的和解金，以解决由美国 29 个州提出的儿童安全索赔。2025 年 12 月，澳大利亚成为第一个全面禁止 16 岁以下用户使用社交媒体的国家。法国也通过了类似的法律，但其最高法院以违反言论自由权为由将其驳回。

These platforms also argue that the law would affect parents’ ability to make decisions about their teens’ internet use through parental controls. A Google spokesperson noted that autoplay on YouTube is turned off for minors by default, and that parents have the ability to turn off their teens’ access to Shorts altogether.

这些平台还辩称，该法律将影响家长通过家长控制功能对青少年互联网使用做出决定的能力。Google 发言人指出，YouTube 上的自动播放功能对未成年人默认关闭，且家长有权完全关闭青少年对 Shorts 的访问权限。

“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,” a Google spokesperson said. “Overly broad laws like this actually break the systems we’ve built to help kids find high-quality, age-appropriate videos.”

“我们认为家长最适合为家庭做出正确的决定，这就是为什么我们提供了一系列保护措施和工具，让家长能够掌控局面，”Google 发言人表示。“像这样过于宽泛的法律实际上破坏了我们为帮助孩子找到高质量、适合年龄的视频而建立的系统。”

A representative for Attorney General Bonta said that his office is reviewing the filings and is committed to “defending California’s commonsense laws to protect kids online.”

总检察长邦塔的代表表示，其办公室正在审查相关文件，并致力于“捍卫加州保护儿童在线安全的常识性法律”。