California Can Enforce Social Media Addiction Law, 9th Cir. Says

"California can enforce the core component of a law prohibiting minors in the state from accessing "addictive algorithms" on social media, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, a blow to the tech industry's campaign against state internet regulations. A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said the tech industry trade association NetChoice LLC had mostly failed to show that key provisions"

"The state law would prohibit social media platforms from providing "personalized feeds" to minor users without parental consent, as well as restricting design features showing the number of likes on a post and an age verification procedure to be implemented in 2027. The Ninth Circuit's ruling said NetChoice failed to show that algorithmic social media feeds are a form or expressive, First Amendment-protected speech by the social media companies."

California's law would bar social media platforms from providing personalized feeds to minors without parental consent, restrict display of post like counts, and require an age verification procedure by 2027. The Ninth Circuit held that NetChoice largely failed to prove key provisions violated platforms' or users' First Amendment rights, finding algorithmic feeds are not clearly protected speech. The court observed that some personalized recommendation algorithms may be expressive while others are not, making the inquiry fact-intensive. The ruling indicated the like-count prohibition aimed at minors is likely unconstitutional. NetChoice sued to block the law ahead of its 2025 implementation.

Read at Bloomberglaw