SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California could soon hold social media companies responsible for harming children with their products, allowing parents to sue platforms like Instagram and TikTok for up to $25,000 per violation under a bill passed by the state Assembly on Monday.
The bill defines addiction as a group of kids under 18 who are both physically, mentally, emotionally, developmentalally or materially harmed and want to stop or reduce how much time they spend on social media, but can't because they are preoccupied or obsessed with it.
Business groups have warned that if the bill passes, social media companies would most likely cease operations for children in California rather than face the legal risk.
The proposal would only apply to social media companies that have at least $100 million in gross revenue in the past year, appearing to take aim at social media giants like Facebook and others that dominate the marketplace.
The era of unfettered social experimentation on children is over and we will protect kids, said Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, a Republican from San Luis Obispo County and author of the bill.
The vote on Monday is a key but not final step for the legislation. The bill will be pushed to the state Senate where it will undergo weeks of hearings and negotiations among lawmakers and advocates. The bill is alive this year because of the vote on Monday.
Social media companies have two ways to escape liability in the courts thanks to the bill. If the bill becomes law, it would take effect on January 1. Companies that remove features that are deemed addictive to children by April 1 would not be responsible for damages.
Companies that conduct regular audits of their practices to identify and remove features that could be addictive to children would be immune to lawsuits.
Business groups oppose the bill despite the provisions. In a letter to lawmakers, TechNet said that if the bill becomes law, social media companies and online web services would have no choice but to cease operations for kids under 18 and to implement stringent age-verification in order to make sure adolescents didn't use their sites. There is no social media company, let alone any business that could tolerate that legal risk, the group wrote.
Some lawmakers appeared willing to change the part of the bill that allows parents to sue social media companies, but none offered a detailed alternative. On Monday, supporters urged their colleagues to pass the bill to continue the conversation about the issue in the state Capitol.
As a lawyer, Ken Cooley, a Democrat from Rancho Cordova, said he normally opposes bills that create more opportunities for lawsuits. He said lawmakers must change the dynamics of what is surrounding us, surrounding our kids. He said that we have to do something. If it doesn't turn out right, we can modify as we go along.