California parents whose children become addicted to social media could soon sue companies
NBCAPR 2022
This bipartisan bill will make California a national leader on children's online safety by specifically targeting the features – notably ads and notifications – that feed into the cycle of addiction in younger users.
This law would violate free-speech rights at the core of the First Amendment. California is as forbidden from penalizing internet publishers for their creation, placement and promotion of content as it is from punishing newspapers and other media.
If this bill, and its vague definition of addiction, pass, social media companies and online web services will have no choice but to cease operations for kids under 18 and implement stringent age-verification in order to comply with these legislative requirements.