Meta, Google and TikTok sued California to block a law ending autoplay and personalized feeds for under-16s, which could change what teens see in 2027.
Meta, Google and TikTok have each sued California to stop a new law that would turn off autoplay and personalized feeds for anyone under 16. The law, AB 1709, is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2027. The three companies filed separate federal lawsuits this week.
AB 1709 bars platforms from serving under-16s what it calls "psychologically exploitative" features. That includes personalized recommendation feeds, which choose posts and videos for you, and autoplay, which starts the next video on its own.
Companies that break the rule could face fines of up to $50,000 per affected child for knowing violations. For negligent violations, the cap is $25,000 per child.
The companies are making it a free speech case under the First Amendment. Meta says California cannot override its editorial judgments about how to curate and display billions of posts. A TikTok spokesperson called the law "a blatantly unconstitutional restriction on free expression."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy group, warns that checking who is under 16 means collecting more data on users. In its view, the law swaps one safety problem for a privacy one. The material does not say how platforms would check ages.
It is not yet known whether a court will block the law before January. If it stands, teens in California could see feeds that look very different in 2027, and proving their age may mean sharing more personal information.
The case lands amid wider pressure on tech companies over kids. Meta agreed to limit teen use of Facebook and Instagram in a deal worth up to $18 billion with nearly every U.S. state. This week, a family also sued Google, alleging their 13-year-old used its AI Mode to plan a suicide attempt. The common question is how far governments can go in dictating the safeguards tech companies build for kids.
If AB 1709 survives in court, California teens under 16 lose autoplay and personalized feeds on Jan. 1, 2027, and age checks may bring new data collection.
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