New California law could change how kids consume social media | Latest Tech News
California kids could soon discover social media less addictive under a pair of payments concentrating on options designed to keep them scrolling.
The proposals, AB 1709 and AB 2, cleared the State Senate Appropriations Committee this week and could attain Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk before the legislative session ends Aug. 31, reported KCRA.
AB 1709 would prohibit social media platforms from offering addictive options to customers under 16, while AB 2 would permit dad and mom and youngsters to sue platforms for civil penalties and damages if a minor is harmed.
California kids could soon use social media without some of the options designed to keep customers scrolling. Getty Images
Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal said concern over youngsters’s social media use crosses political and demographic traces. AP
Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal — the Long Beach Democrat behind both payments — said heightening concern over youngsters’s relationship with social media has crossed political and demographic traces.
“There’s really been a sea change that’s taking place over the last couple of years. And parents up and down the state, across the aisle from every geography, every religion, every background that you can think of, all want the same thing. They want regulation. They want action. They’re worried about their kids. And I say that not just as a legislator but as a dad,” Lowenthal told California Politics 360, as cited by KCRA.
“I’m worried about my kids, and we really need to do something.”
The laws targets options like auto-scroll, infinite scroll, and notifications, which Lowenthal believes contribute to social media habit.
Children spend an average of 5 hours a day on social media, he said, arguing that when weekends and holidays are included, many spend more time on the platforms than in college.
The laws targets auto-scroll, infinite scroll and notifications, which Lowenthal believes contribute to online habit. Getty Images
In his State of the State tackle, Gavin Newsom highlighted Australia’s restrictions on youngsters’s access to social media. Anadolu via Getty Images
AB 1709 wouldn’t ban youngsters from utilizing social media altogether — fairly, platforms would offer choices like chronological timelines without mainstream options.
The payments come as governments worldwide think about how to restrict youngsters’s publicity to social media.
In his State of the State tackle, Newsom highlighted Australia’s restrictions on youngsters’s access to social media and called for California to do more to tackle the issue.
Some youth advocacy teams — including LGBTQ and neurodivergent communities — fear the laws could make it more durable for younger people to join online.
Efforts to regulate social media have also confronted legal challenges from tech corporations. The tech industry opposes the payments, citing issues about potential lawsuits and First Amendment points.
The full State Senate will resolve within the next two weeks whether or not the laws strikes ahead and reaches Newsom for signature.
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