Proposed California bill would allow parents to block children’s algorithmic social feeds

Two bills will be introduced in California aimed at protecting children from social media addiction and protecting their private data. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, state Sen. Nancy Skinner and Rep. Buffy Wicks introduced the “Protecting Youth from Social Media” Act on Monday. Addiction Act (SB 976) and the California Children’s Data Privacy Act (AB 1949). The proposed legislation follows the California Child Safety Act, which was supposed to take effect this year but is now on hold.

SB 976 could give parents the power to remove sources of addictive algorithms from their children’s social pipeline. If passed, parents of children under 18 would be able to choose between a preset algorithmic feed, often designed to create profitable addictive behaviors, and a chronological, less habit-forming algorithmic feed. choose. It also lets parents block all social media notifications and prevent their children from accessing social platforms at night and during school hours.

“Social media companies design their platforms to keep users addicted, especially our children. Countless studies show that once young people become addicted to social media, they experience depression, anxiety, and lower self-esteem,” said California Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) wrote in a press release. “We’ve waited long enough for social media companies to take action. SB 976 is now needed to establish reasonable guardrails so parents can protect their children from these preventable harms.”

At the same time, AB 1949 will attempt to enhance data privacy for children under the age of 18 in California. The bill’s language gives consumers in the state the right to know what personal information social companies collect and sell and allows them to prevent children’s data from being sold to third parties. Any exceptions require “informed consent,” and children under 13 must have parental consent.

Additionally, AB 1949 would close a loophole in the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that fails to effectively protect the data of 17-year-olds. The CCPA reserves the strongest protections for children under 16 years of age.

“This bill is a critical step in our efforts to close loopholes in privacy laws that allow tech giants to exploit and monetize our children’s sensitive data with impunity,” Wicks (D-Oakland) wrote.

The bills are likely to be released to coincide with a U.S. Senate hearing on children’s online safety on Wednesday, with five big tech CEOs in attendance. Additionally, California is part of a 41-state coalition that sued Meta in October, accusing it of harming children’s mental health. wall street journal It was reported in 2021 that internal Meta (then Facebook) documents described “tweens” as a “valuable but untapped audience.”