SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) 鈥 California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to from getting social media posts suggested by a platform鈥檚 algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children鈥檚 access to social media, but they have faced .
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
鈥淓very parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children 鈥 isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. 鈥淲ith this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits.鈥
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children鈥檚 accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their age. Some argue it would threaten online privacy by making platforms collect more information on users.
The law defines an "addictive feed" as a website or app 鈥渋n which multiple pieces of media generated or shared by users are, either concurrently or sequentially, recommended, selected, or prioritized for display to a user based, in whole or in part, on information provided by the user, or otherwise associated with the user or the user鈥檚 device,鈥 with some exceptions.
The subject garnered renewed attention in June when U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to and their impacts on young people. Attorneys general in 42 states endorsed the plan in a letter sent to Congress last week.
State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat representing Berkeley who authored the California law, said after lawmakers approved the bill last month that 鈥渟ocial media companies have designed their platforms to addict users, especially our kids.鈥
鈥淲ith the passage of SB 976, the California Legislature has sent a clear message: When social media companies won鈥檛 act, it鈥檚 our responsibility to protect our kids,鈥 she said in a statement.
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Associated Press writer Tr芒n Nguy峄卬 contributed to this report.
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