California bans addictive social media features for minors

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1709, a legislative framework designed to ban addictive social media features for users under the age of 16. Unlike Australia’s approach, which implemented a total ban for minors, California’s law targets specific engineering elements deemed ‘psychologically exploitative.’

Prohibited features include infinite scrolling, autoplay, and algorithmic recommendation feeds. The legislation also includes provisions regarding chatbots, age verification, and the prevention of child sexual abuse content. Violations of these regulations could result in fines of up to $1 million per child harmed.

This regulatory shift follows significant legal and financial pressure on major tech companies. Meta previously reached a settlement involving up to $17–$18 billion across various US states to address concerns regarding adolescent mental health and platform design. As global tech companies standardize compliance to meet these new standards, the impact of such regulations is expected to reach international markets, including Europe.