Noe PadillaUSA TODAY
Nov. 12, 2026, 11:01 a.m. ET
Google, TikTok and Meta filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month against California in an attempt to block a new state law that limits how companies can implement addictive features targeting children under 16 on social media, specifically prohibiting <a editorial judgments of those who curate, display, and disseminate speech."
Additionally, the companies argued that the law violates
<p>” the state cannot consistent with first amendment override meta editorial judgments about how to curate and display these billions of posts third-party speech complaint reads.>
“That the Act implements both bans by a direct prohibition on providing the features to minors, and by requiring Meta to delete minors’ accounts if the features are not banned, makes no constitutional difference.”
TikTok argues in its complaint that California is overstepping its authority by imposing this ban, even as the company has created systems within its apps to protect teens’ safety and their privacy by offering parents a method to control their teen’s platform.
“TikTok shares the desire to protect teens on its platform, but the extreme way the Legislature has gone about it in the Act is not consistent with the First Amendment,” TikTok’s complaint reads.
“By prohibiting TikTok from delivering to under-sixteen users the curated compilations of videos it creates for them, and by dictating how TikTok may present those videos, the Act runs headlong into the First Amendment.”
The California Attorney General’s office said Rob Bonta was aware of the lawsuits and would review each case.
Over the last year, Google, TikTok and Meta have faced a significant level of public outrage regarding their roles in the growing rates of depression, anxiety and more among kids and teenagers.
Earlier this year, Meta Platforms reached a $16.68 billion settlement to resolve claims brought by states claiming that the company designed Facebook and Instagram to addict children, misled consumers about their safety, and improperly collected personal data of children who used its platforms.
The claims alleged that Meta and <a s allegations that the short-video app failed to protect children's privacy and illegally collected their information.
Regardless, Lowenthal criticized the companies for filing their lawsuit, arguing that this reinforces the need to create “proper regulatory frameworks for AI, social media, and Big Tech.”
“It’s remarkable how far the platforms will go to halt our ability to simply keep our children safe,” Lowenthal said. “We are not going to stop until <a
