A recent ruling from a federal judge on Tuesday night halted tech lobbying group NetChoice’s attempt to challenge California’s new law, SB 976, which prohibits companies from providing “addictive feeds” to minors.
As a result of this ruling, starting Wednesday, companies are no longer allowed to offer an addictive feed to a minor in California, unless explicit parental consent is obtained. According to SB 976, an addictive feed is defined as an algorithm that curates and suggests content to users based on their behavior rather than their explicit preferences.
Commencing January 2027, companies must implement “age assurance techniques,” such as age estimation models, to identify minors and adjust their feeds accordingly.
In November, NetChoice, representing members like Meta, Google, and X, filed a lawsuit against SB 976 to stop its enforcement, alleging a violation of the First Amendment. Although the judge rejected the motion for an injunction, certain parts of the law were still blocked, including restrictions on nighttime notifications for minors.
Similarly, New York approved comparable legislation in June.
