Who is Rob Bonta? The AG at the heart of some of the biggest legal battles in business | CNN Business

New York —

As California Attorney General, Rob Bonta technically represents the interests of just one state. But over the past year, his profile has grown as he leads some of the business world’s biggest legal battles — with the potential to reshape how people across the country consume information, news and entertainment.

Last week, Bonta helped secure a landmark, $18 billion settlement with Meta, leading dozens of state attorneys general in a lawsuit that claimed the tech giant’s platforms harmed young people’s mental health.

Now, he’s angling for broader changes to the social media industry — warning TikTok and Google’s YouTube that they, too, will have a coalition of states come after them if they don’t agree to safety updates.

At the same time, Bonta is heading the fight to stop Paramount from acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, a merger that seeks to reshape Hollywood and the TV news business. Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.