California Governor Newsom Signs Laws Targeting Social Media Features for Minors
Quick Look
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed more than a dozen new laws addressing children's online safety, including a ban on social media companies providing addictive features like infinite scroll and algorithmic recommendations to users under 16, calling the approach 'better' than Australia's under-16 ban.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
California has been active in regulating technology and online safety, particularly concerning minors' exposure to potentially harmful digital content and design features.
California governor Gavin Newsom signed more than a dozen new laws on Thursday that address various aspects of children's safety online, including one that prohibits social media companies from serving addictive features to users under 16 years old. During a signing ceremony, Newsom described the restrictions as "better" than Australia's ban for all users under 16. "This is about the features themselves. This is about addressing the substantive issue around the engineering. If you address that, then the age issue is not the essential issue," Newsom said. The new law defines "addictive" features as ones that are "psychologically exploitative" and prohibits social media companies from providing children with features such as infinite scroll, algorithmic recommendations and autoplay.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Social media companies will challenge the law in court over First Amendment concerns
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- How will the law define and enforce the prohibition of 'psychologically exploitative' features?
- What penalties will social media companies face for non-compliance?
- How will age verification be implemented to ensure compliance with the under-16 restriction?
