California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, at present signed a legislation that prohibits social media platforms from offering addictive options to customers beneath 16, the primary legislation of its type within the US.
He additionally signed a legislation requiring AI corporations to open up to younger customers when they’re partaking with a chatbot moderately than a human, and to limit harmful content material on subjects reminiscent of self-harm.
The 2 measures have been a part of a package deal of 13 digital security payments. Newsom mentioned it was too onerous for fogeys alone to guard their youngsters from highly effective algorithms.
“It’s a very good day for our kids,” Newsom mentioned on the signing ceremony. “It’s a very good day for the State of California.”
What the brand new legal guidelines require
Meeting Invoice 1709 prohibits social media platforms from providing addictive options reminiscent of infinite scroll and autoplay movies to customers beneath 16.
Senate Invoice 1119 creates new rules for chatbot use, together with parental controls, notifications if youngsters disable security settings and a disaster protocol for queries about suicide.
On the ceremony, Steve Padilla, the state senator who wrote the chatbot invoice, addressed Maria Raine, whose son Adam died in 2025 after discussing suicidal ideas with a chatbot. She attended holding a photograph of Adam.
Meeting Invoice 2 units monetary penalties for civil lawsuits towards social media corporations accused of harming youngsters by their platforms. The opposite payments embrace measures to reinforce digital privateness protections for younger individuals, develop the authorized definition of kid sexual exploitation to incorporate digitally altered or AI-generated pictures, and rewrite current child-safety design legal guidelines to reply to courtroom rulings.
Josh Lowenthal, the Democratic meeting member who launched the social media invoice, mentioned in an interview: “Now we have handed a tipping level, it’s now an avalanche.”
Jim Steyer, chief govt of Frequent Sense Media, a non-profit youngster advocacy group, mentioned: “That is the largest, most far-reaching set of on-line protections in the US and can set a normal for the entire nation.”
Tech corporations anticipated to go to courtroom
Tech corporations have argued that they’ve already launched many security protections for younger customers. They’re additionally anticipated to problem the legal guidelines in courtroom, saying they violate free speech rights.
Meta, Google and TikTok have deployed a few of the largest lobbying forces in Washington and state capitals to defeat youngster security payments, arguing that regulation would stymie the expansion of the tech sector.
Jeffrey Chester, govt director of the Heart for Digital Democracy, a non-profit group that has advocated youngster security legal guidelines, mentioned: “There’s no query the lobbying energy neutralized policymakers, however this has been a galvanizing second the place policymakers understand we’re at a disaster second.”
The legal guidelines comply with a sequence of social media trials this yr wherein 1000’s of youngsters, colleges and states accused Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube of hooking younger customers with addictive merchandise, which have been in comparison with cigarettes.
In August, Meta settled with 47 states, Washington DC and US territories for as much as $17.1bn and agreed to main modifications for younger customers on its platform. A part of the settlement is contingent on different social media corporations reaching comparable agreements with the states.
Strikes exterior the US
France, Indonesia and Greece have additionally launched legal guidelines proscribing social media use by youngsters beneath 16.
In Britain, the federal government introduced in June that social media could be banned for under-16s, protecting platforms reminiscent of Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Fb and X. It mentioned protections have been anticipated to come back into drive in spring 2027, and that AI “romantic companion” chatbots must implement a minimal age of 18.
The UK plan adopted Keir Starmer’s shift in January in the direction of backing a ban, and has been criticised by business figures as impractical.
In 2022, California enacted a legislation that restricted knowledge assortment of customers beneath 18. In 2025, Newsom signed into legislation necessities for AI corporations to check their fashions for security and report the outcomes. He vetoed a model of the chatbot youngster security invoice the identical yr.
Newsom, who’s in his closing months as governor and is contemplating a run for president, laid the groundwork for the social media laws in his State of the State speech in January, when he talked about the restrictions Australia had not too long ago imposed on social media use by youngsters.
Amy Ingham
Amy Ingham is a reporter at Enterprise Issues, protecting UK enterprise information with a concentrate on breaking information, enterprise coverage, late funds and insolvency. She joined the journal in 2026 after finishing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow School’s journalism faculty. Her latest reporting consists of British Metal’s nationalisation and its influence on SME suppliers, the decline in late funds by giant companies, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Attain her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.
