California cracks down on addictive social media for kids

California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year that allows parents to block their children from receiving social media posts suggested by a platform’s algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children’s access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.

California’s law will take effect in a state that is home to some of the world’s largest technology companies. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom in 2022 signed a first-in-the-nation law that prohibits online platforms from using users’ personal information in ways that could harm children. It’s part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impact of social media on children’s well-being.

“Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can do to their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours lost late into the night,” Newsom said in a statement. “With this bill, California is helping to protect children and teens from the specially designed features that fuel these destructive habits.”

The law prohibits platforms from sending notifications without parental permission to minors between 12:00 and 6:00 and 8:00 and 15:00 on weekdays from September to May, when children are usually in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children’s accounts to private by default.

Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they can’t verify their age. Some argue it would threaten online privacy by making platforms collect more information about users.

The law defines “addictive food” as a website or application “where multiple pieces of user-generated or shared media are, either concurrently or sequentially, recommended, selected or prioritized for display to a user, in their entirety or in part. , with respect to information provided by the user or otherwise associated with the user or the user’s device,” with some exceptions.

The topic gained renewed attention in June when US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms and their impact on young people. Attorneys general from 42 states endorsed the plan in a letter to Congress last week.

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat representing Berkeley, California, who authored the law, said after lawmakers approved the bill last month that “social media companies designed their platforms for addicted users, especially our children “.

“With the passage of SB 976, the California Legislature sent a clear message: When social media companies won’t act, it’s our responsibility to protect our children,” she said in a statement.

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