SACRAMENTO — The California State Assembly today approved Assembly Bill 2, landmark legislation authored by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) that would hold social media platforms financially accountable if their negligence contributes to harm suffered by children and teens, with a 61-0 unanimous vote.
"Despite the Legislature’s continued efforts to address the mental health crisis fueled by social media, the platforms remain unaccountable," said Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal. "AB 2 is a necessary step to finally compel the industry to take responsibility for the damage their algorithms and design choices are causing to our kids."
AB 2, which is sponsored by Common Sense Media, targets large social media companies whose own internal research made public through whistleblowers and investigations has shown they are aware of the addictive and harmful nature of their platforms, particularly on young users. The bill creates a legal pathway for financial liability when a platform’s failure to exercise ordinary care results in harm to a minor.
“If a company sells your kid a bike, and your kid gets hurt when it breaks, you can go to court to hold that company accountable under current law. The same is true for social media companies,” said Common Sense Media Founder and CEO James P. Steyer. “By strengthening penalties for harms caused by social media companies’ negligence toward kids and teens, AB 2 helps families by sending a powerful message to these companies – if your platforms hurt kids, you could pay the price.”
A host of parents and kids have spoken out about the need for AB 2 to incentivize social media companies to implement age-appropriate safety features and stop designing their platforms to exploit youth vulnerabilities.
“My daughter nearly lost her life. She missed years of school, friendships and milestones because an algorithm decided that her desire to be ‘healthy’ was an opportunity to push toxic content,” Neveen Radwan, a mother from San Jose wrote in an op-ed published last week. “Big Tech cannot profit off the pain of our children without consequence. AB 2 can help prevent this from happening to other families. California needs to enact it and send a clear message that our children are more important than a tech giant’s profits.”
The bill now moves to the State Senate for further consideration.
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Josh Lowenthal represents California’s 69th Assembly District, which comprises the communities of Carson, Catalina Island, Long Beach, Signal Hill as well as parts of unincorporated Los Angeles County.