YouTube News

YouTube sued California over teen personalized feed limits

Google filed in federal court Wednesday alongside Meta and TikTok over Assembly Bill 1709, which takes effect January 1 and bars addictive algorithm features for users under 16.

By The Creator Wire Staff Published Nov. 6, 2026

Google and its YouTube platform sued California on Wednesday in the Northern District of California, joining Meta and TikTok in separate federal challenges to Assembly Bill 1709.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the measure on September 10. It forbids social platforms from offering personalized feeds, autoplay, and other features state Attorney General Rob Bonta may designate as addictive to anyone under 16, with no parental opt-out. The law takes effect January 1.

In their complaint, Google and YouTube argued that personalization is what makes YouTube usable for children when roughly twenty million new videos upload every day. "Without personalized feeds, millions of under-16 users will struggle to find the content that is right for them amongst billions of videos that are geared toward adults or users with different interests," the filing states. YouTube said autoplay is already off by default for users under 18.

Platforms must verify ages and either remove banned features from accounts held by minors or delete those accounts. Knowing violations can draw penalties of up to $50,000 per affected minor; negligent violations up to $25,000.

The companies say the statute violates the First Amendment, is preempted by Section 230, and goes further than California’s 2024 law SB 976, which blocked personalized feeds for users under 18 only without parental consent. Meta, Google, and TikTok are already appealing SB 976 at the Ninth Circuit.

Google spokesperson José Castañeda said parents are best positioned to decide what their families need and that broad rules "break the systems we’ve built to help kids find high-quality, age-appropriate videos." TikTok, which filed in Los Angeles, called AB 1709 a restriction on curating content by user preferences.

When Newsom signed the bill, he said California would not "stand by while unregulated technology puts our children at risk" as part of what he described as the nation’s strongest online safety package for children.