California’s legislature has passed legislation that will require social media companies to consider the physical and mental health of minors who use their platforms.
Senate Bill AB 2273 passed in the state’s Senate chamber in a 75 to 0 vote on Tuesday. The proposed legislation is expected to be headed to the desk of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), though it is unclear whether Newsom will sign the legislation into law, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, which was first introduced by state representatives Buffy Wicks (D), Jordan Cunningham (R), and Cottie Petrie-Norris (D), will “require a business that provides an online service, product, or feature likely to be accessed by children to comply with specified requirements.”
Those requirements include configuring all default privacy settings offered by the social media platform unless the platform can demonstrate a reason why its setting is suited for children and provide information about privacy information, terms and conditions, policies, community standards, and using clear language suited to the age of children likely to access their platform.
The proposed bill will also prohibit social media platforms from taking proscribed action such as when using the child user’s information for any other purpose rather than intended and ban platforms that use children’s information that could be detrimental to their health.
Social media platforms that violate the rules according to the bill will be fined up to $2,500 per affected child for each violation and more than $7,500 per affected child for each intentional violation, the bill’s text said.
Social media company executives have expressed their concern over the passing of the new bill, arguing that state laws regulating social media use will make their compliance more difficult, according to the Journal.
A study from last year detailed that Meta, the owners of Facebook and Instagram harvested data on children users and used the data to fuel the platform’s advertising model.
The Hill has reached out to Twitter and Meta for comments and more information.
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