Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed into law a landmark package of bills aimed at restricting children and teens’ use of social media and artificial intelligence chatbots deemed harmful.
The nation’s first round of online child safety regulations bans social media platforms from offering “addictive features” to users under 16, requires safeguards for minors using AI chatbots and expands children’s privacy protections.
“Current legislation makes clear that California will not stand idly by while unregulated technology puts our children at risk,” Newsom said in a statement. “With innovation comes responsibility and protecting our children comes first. »
The new laws will require AI chatbot companions to include crisis protocols for suicidal ideation, expand parental controls and report independent annual child safety audits to the state. California will also expand the scope of child sexual exploitation to include digitally altered or AI-generated content involving anyone under the age of 18 and regulate the use of K-12 student data in AI systems.
Social media companies will also be prohibited from providing users under 16 with access to algorithmic feeds, autoplay, infinite scrolling and other “addictive features,” and the state will establish financial penalties in civil lawsuits accusing social media platforms of harming children. The laws take effect on January 1, 2027.
“California just drew a line that the industry spent a decade pretending didn’t exist,” said Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Mediain a press release. “Platforms will no longer be able to target children under 16 with features designed to siphon off their attention. This is a major victory for children, and California won it first.”
The restrictions extend beyond Meta’s $17 billion social media addiction settlement with state attorneys general, which imposes time limits and makes a non-algorithmic feed optional for users under 18. In two separate trials in March, the social media giant was also found liable for endangering the safety of children and intentionally designing its platforms to be addictive.
The new legislation also requires California schools to develop and include a digital wellness curriculum for health classes.
This story was originally published by EdSource.
