Websites cannot be forced to act as mouthpieces for California’s views about social media. NetChoice’s newest lawsuit challenges California’s latest attempt to control and compel online speech. AB 56 forces websites to display California’s preferred message about social media use-–messages that cannot be skipped by users and get larger and more frequent over time. And just like laws in Colorado and Minnesota that NetChoice is already challenging, AB 56 is flatly unconstitutional. The goal is to deter users from online services and push the government’s controversial views on social media. This is compelled speech, a direct violation of the First Amendment.
California’s AB 56 singles out the websites where free speech thrives today, especially on political and cultural issues. The First Amendment bars the government from making private actors speak for it, whether the medium be a billboard, a newspaper, or a website. States cannot do by “warning label” what they’re forbidden from doing by outright ban, and trying to chill speech through stigma is still censorship. A federal court already blocked Colorado’s nearly identical law in NetChoice v. Weiser, and California’s is even more extreme.
California is using legitimate concerns about mental health as cover for a law that’s really about power. The science on how online services affect mental health and well-being is still emerging and contradictory, and it’s even thinner for adults. There’s no credible evidence that a government warning label improves youth well-being.
Users will ultimately pay the price. The state’s goal is to annoy people away from websites whose content it dislikes, cluttering their screens with government messages they must sit through no matter how many times they’ve seen them. Lawmakers who want a better online environment for kids should pursue constitutional measures like those in NetChoice’s Digital Safety Shield for America. California is free to share its own views through public campaigns and resources, but it can’t force private websites to speak for it.
Court Filings
NetChoice’s complaint filed on October 22, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.