California’s crackdown on addictive social media feeds for kids will proceed as platforms appeal

A federal judge has again refused to block California's law restricting addictive algorithmic feeds for minors, ruling that TikTok, Meta and YouTube must comply while their appeal proceeds at the Ninth Circuit. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila rejected the companies' request for a narrower injunction covering just the appeal period, noting the Ninth Circuit has already weighed in on the broader legal questions.

Under Senate Bill 976, platforms must get verified parental consent before showing minors a personalized content feed and must offer parents settings to limit it. The companies argued curating feeds is protected expression and that redesigning them would be costly, but Davila called the free-speech claim unpersuasive and the cost concerns speculative rather than irreparable.

Davila pointed to the U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on social media and youth mental health, which California's legislature cited when passing the law, as support for the state's interest in protecting children. The companies' remaining option is to seek emergency relief directly from the Ninth Circuit; otherwise the law stays in force for months while the appeal winds through.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.