Three of the largest social media companies have taken California's attorney general to court over a state law aimed at protecting minors online. Meta, Google, and TikTok are jointly challenging the statute, which is set to take effect next year and would restrict social media access for children under 16.
The law represents one of the most aggressive state-level attempts to regulate how young people use social platforms. It would impose limits on access for the under-16 group, a move supporters describe as necessary child safety protection and opponents characterize as an overreach that interferes with how platforms operate.
The companies' lawsuit against the attorney general sets up a legal fight over whether states can impose such restrictions on national platforms. The litigation will likely center on constitutional questions about speech and parental authority, as well as on the practical difficulty of verifying ages and enforcing access limits at scale.
The timing matters because the law is scheduled to begin next year, meaning the court will have to move relatively quickly if it intends to resolve the challenge before enforcement starts. For now, the suit signals that the major platforms intend to resist the measure rather than comply with it, setting up a high-profile test of state power over social media.