Meta, Google and TikTok have each sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta to block AB 1709, a law that would bar social platforms from offering autoplay videos and personalized feeds to users under 16, according to TechCrunch, which reported the suits on November 5, 2026. The article does not name the court where they were filed.

The law

  • AB 1709 was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September and is scheduled to take effect “at the start of the new year,” per TechCrunch, which gives no specific date.
  • Platforms that do not turn off autoplay and personalized feeds for under-16 users must delete their accounts. Noncompliant platforms could face fines of up to $50,000 per affected under-16 user.

The companies’ claims

  • Meta argues the law violates the First Amendment by overriding its editorial choices about displaying content, and that Section 230 preempts it. TikTok and Google made similar arguments. The companies also argue the law would limit parents’ ability to make decisions about their teens’ internet use through parental controls.
  • Meta wrote in its suit that “the Act would make it unlawful for Meta to disseminate speech to minors altogether” unless it changes its feed and autoplay practices.
  • A TikTok spokesperson called the law “a blatantly unconstitutional restriction on free expression” in an emailed statement and said it undermines common content-selection practices that bookstores, TV networks and streaming services also use.
  • A Google spokesperson said YouTube autoplay is off by default for minors and that parents can turn off their teens’ access to Shorts, adding, “We believe parents are best positioned to make the right decisions for their families.”

The state’s response

A representative for the attorney general said the office is reviewing the filings and is committed to “defending California’s commonsense laws to protect kids online.”

Sources and notes

This post is based on TechCrunch’s report by Amanda Silberling (4:01 p.m. PST, November 5, 2026). Lens did not read the complaints, the text of AB 1709 or the CalMatters bill page TechCrunch cites, and the quotations are as TechCrunch reproduced them.

Image: the California State Capitol in Sacramento, by Quintin Soloviev via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0; cropped. Illustrative photo; it does not show the events described.