The law they’re suing over is called the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act. Passed during the 2023-2024 session with bipartisan support, the law blocks companies from giving children the sort of social media feeds we’ve come to expect online — hyperpersonalized, laden with recommended content based on our past social media usage — unless those minors’ parents give specific consent. The law’s text dubbed our current algorithmically mediated feeds “addictive,” and tied social media usage to young people’s mental health struggles.

“Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night,” Newsom wrote when he signed the bill in September 2024. “With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits.”