Tech Lobby Files Lawsuit to Stop California Law Restricting Social Media for Minors

Social media apps on a phone in New York City on March 13, 2024. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

A tech lobby representing major social media providers filed a federal lawsuit to prevent a California law from coming into effect that aims to protect youth from social media addiction, arguing that the measure violates the First Amendment.

On Sept. 20, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 976, the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act. The bill prohibits digital platforms from knowingly providing an addictive feed to a minor without parental consent, along with tackling other harms.

On Nov. 12, NetChoice, a trade association of internet companies, filed a lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint accuses the state of “attempting to unconstitutionally regulate minors’ access to protected online speech—impairing adults’ access along the way.”

The Act, which comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, “would fundamentally limit the expressive activity of NetChoice members by restricting how and when they can disseminate personalized feeds,” the lawsuit says.

NetChoice claims that the right to provide and view personalized feeds is “fully protected” under the First Amendment.

SB 976 requires social media networks to implement measures to prevent minors from getting addicted to the platforms. This includes taking action against addictive feeds, protecting their privacy by default, and allowing certain parental controls.

Members of NetChoice include Facebook owner Meta, Snapchat owner Snap Inc., X, Pinterest, Google, and Amazon, among others.

The complaint alleges that parental consent provisions in the Act violate the First Amendment. SB 976 requires platforms to secure parental consent before allowing children to access personalized content as well as accessing them for over an hour per day.

This “restricts minors’ ability to access protected speech and websites’ ability to engage in protected speech,” the lawsuit says.

Social media platforms are mandated to conduct age verification of users to “reasonably determine” whether they are minors. Such verification would force all individuals, both minors and adults, to hand over personal information.

These requirements “chill speech, in violation of the First Amendment.” Moreover, the Act’s definition of “addictive internet-based service or application is unconstitutionally vague,” the lawsuit says.

Citing these reasons, NetChoice asked the court to enjoin the California Attorney General from enforcing SB 976 as unlawful.

The Epoch Times reached out to the California attorney general’s office for comments.

Protecting Children Online

SB 976 requires platforms to set the default setting for minors to prevent them from receiving addictive feeds. Platforms are prohibited from sending notifications during school hours and between midnight and 6:00 a.m. on school days. The social media accounts of minors shall be automatically set as private.

Parents cannot override the privacy default setting for their children. They will have control over two aspects of their children’s account—allowing kids to receive notifications during restricted times and permitting them to receive addictive feeds.

After signing the bill into law in September, Newsom said the legislation puts “children’s well-being first.”

“Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children—isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night,” he said.

“With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits.”

An April 2024 report from the American Psychological Association (APA) warned that social media poses several risks to children, urging that “change is needed soon.”

Platforms developed for adults are not appropriate for children, with minors requiring a higher level of protection due to their emotional and mental vulnerabilities, the report said.

The APA pointed out that brain development for children begins around 10 to 13 years of age and ends sometime in the mid-20s. During this period, the brain may be hypersensitive to social feedback. As such, children are attracted to things that give them attention and praise.

Multiple bills have been introduced at the federal level that aim to protect children from social media. In July, two such bills cleared procedural hurdles in the Senate.

One of them, COPPA 2.0, expands the age limit of minors protected under the regulation to 16 from 13. It requires social media platforms to obtain consent from 13- to 16-year-old users before collecting their information. Advertising that targets minor users is banned.

The second bill, the Kids Online Safety Act, requires companies to ensure that children cannot access harmful content such as posts about suicide, drugs, and bullying.