California Takes Action to Protect Children from Addictive Social Media
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a landmark bill aimed at combating the addictive strategies developed by social media companies to keep children online. This legislation prohibits tech companies from providing “addictive content feeds” to children without parental consent. Additionally, it bans platforms from sending notifications to students during school hours and late at night.
The law limits the content suggested to children by social media platforms to “chronological feeds,” requiring that only posts from people they follow are displayed. The purpose of this law is to reduce the negative impact of algorithmically manipulated content feeds on children’s mental health.
However, such laws have faced strong reactions from tech companies. A similar law passed in 2022 was challenged by large tech companies, including NetChoice, which argued that the law violated the First Amendment’s free speech clause. The companies claimed that these laws regulate content, infringing on their right to make editorial decisions. This new law in California may also face legal challenges from tech companies.
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