California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law prohibiting social media companies from serving addictive features to users under 16 years old. The law, which addresses various aspects of children's safety online, targets features such as infinite scroll, algorithmic recommendations, and autoplay, which are deemed psychologically exploitative. This move comes as regulators worldwide grapple with the impacts of social media on young users.
During a signing ceremony near San Francisco, Newsom highlighted that California's approach differs from Australia's ban on social media use for all users under 16. Newsom emphasized that the new law focuses on the problematic features themselves rather than imposing a blanket ban. "This is about the features themselves. This is about actually addressing the problem, the scrolling, the algorithms. This is about addressing the substantive issue around the engineering," he said.
Australia's law, which went into effect in December, has been criticized for its ineffectiveness. A government report in July revealed spotty enforcement and continued social media use among children. In contrast, California's law aims to directly address the addictive elements of social media, hoping to provide a more effective solution.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has already agreed to implement a similar approach as part of a settlement with California and other US states. The company stated its commitment to providing teens with safe, age-appropriate experiences on its platforms. Other major social media platforms, including Snap, TikTok, and Google-owned YouTube, have not yet commented on the new law.
The new law is part of a broader set of regulations signed by Newsom that include provisions for chatbots, age verification, child sexual abuse content, and technology use in schools. These measures reflect a growing global concern over the influence of social media on young users. The European Union is also expected to announce its own plan for social media regulations next week.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has expressed support for limiting addictive social media designs, with discussions underway about potential EU-wide limits for children under 13 or a blanket ban under 15. "We do not have to accept addictive social media design," von der Leyen stated in a recent video. As these regulations evolve, they may influence social media policies in other regions, including Bangladesh, where concerns over online safety for children are increasingly prominent.
