A federal judge has upheld a California law that bans tech companies from serving addictive feeds to minors. As Neowin reports, the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act (SB 976) was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in September and will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
SB 976 makes it “unlawful for the operator of an addictive internet-based service or application, as defined, to provide an addictive feed to a user unless the operator does not have actual knowledge that the user is a minor.”
The law defines an addictive feed as “an internet website, online service, online application, or mobile application, in which multiple pieces of media generated or shared by users are recommended, selected, or prioritized for display to a user based on information provided by the user.”
It also restricts notifications. Social media platforms cannot alert minors about activities on their accounts between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
However, the law permits both addictive feeds and regular notifications for minor accounts if social media platforms obtain “verifiable parental consent.”
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Two months after the bill was signed into law, tech lobbying group NetChoice, which represents Google, Meta, and Snap, challenged it in a district court in California. They argued that the law violates the First Amendment and places heavy restrictions on the platforms’ operations.
On Tuesday, Judge Edward J. Davila granted a preliminary injunction against SB 976’s notification provisions, stating that “NetChoice is likely to succeed on its First Amendment claim.” However, he denied injunctions against all other provisions of the law.
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