By Mike Swift ( August 6, 2026, 17:49 GMT | Insight) -- Social media feeds to teenagers targeted by algorithms are not "expressive" content protected by the First Amendment, a federal judge in California said in denying motions by Meta Platforms, Google and TikTok for an injunction blocking California's Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act. "Plaintiffs are not making any decisions about what content will be 'interesting,' because they are merely relying on predictive modelling to assess what users' characteristics and history on the platform suggest will keep these same users engaged," US District Judge Edward Davila wrote in an order saying algorithms are more like "a mirror that reflects back to users their own perceived interests" than an expressive choice by the platform.A federal judge in California denied bids by Google, Meta Platforms and TikTok to block a state law that limits personalized social media feeds, finding that algorithmic targeting of content is more a mathematical "mirror" of a user's interests than an expressive message....
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