(NewsWorthy.news) – California lawmakers have introduced a bill that would hold social media companies responsible for the harm they inflict on children.
Democratic California Representative Josh Lowenthal wrote Assembly Bill 3172, which would demand that social media firms pay out for any harm the social media platforms cause to minors that is proven in court. The bill sets legal damages at $5,000 per violation, which could mean a payout of up to $1 million for each child harmed. Sponsored by Common Sense Media, the bill alters California’s negligence law. James Steyer, founder of Common Sense Media, stated that social media companies are given no incentive to stop pushing addictive and harmful features to minors unless they are held liable in court.
Despite strong opposition from the tech industry, Republicans joined Democrats in passing the bill. The passed legislature states that features utilized by social media platforms are known to cause injury to children and even lead to death. It adds that taxpayers, parents and schools are unfairly paying for this harm rather than the social media companies. The added section of the bill stresses that minors are “uniquely vulnerable” on such platforms, and that a “child” is a minor under the age of 18.
The left-leaning Chamber of Progress spoke against the bill, and its CEO, former Google executive Adam Kovacevich, warned that the bill could censor what children have access to and restrict information available to LGBTQ teens. In early 2024 parents sued social media firms for not doing enough to protect children from harmful content, such as online harassment, dangerous stunts and promotion of suicide. The lawsuit specifically targeted Alphabet, ByteDance, Meta and Snap Inc., the parent companies of YouTube, TikTok, Meta and Snapchat respectively.
California Governor Gavin Newsom already signed the Assembly Bill 1394, which would hold web services responsible and punish them for knowingly allowing, aiding or abetting sexual exploitation of children. Several online regulations meant to protect children have been passed in recent years, but some have been challenged and accused of violating the constitution. In September 2023 Elon Musk’s X Corp. opted to sue the state over new attempts to moderate categories of speech out of concern over hate speech.
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