The bill was introduced earlier this year by Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal<\/a>, a Democrat representing Long Beach, and has cleared two committees in the last week. Lowenthal\u2019s office said the bill is on track to pass the full Assembly next month.<\/p>\n Gov. Gavin Newsom has already voiced support<\/a> for social media age restrictions, and Lowenthal is confident his bill has enough bipartisan backing in the Legislature to become law this summer.<\/p>\n Lowenthal said via his spokespeople Wednesday that social media companies have \u201cunfettered access to vulnerable, developing minds\u201d and that they \u201chave adopted design choices that malignantly target users\u2019 neurological systems, leading to addiction, depression, and, in grave circumstances, death.\u201d<\/p>\n He said his bill addresses that \u201cevolving public health crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n California Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal is seen in a photo provided by his office.<\/p>\n Under the law, a platform featuring so-called addictive features would have to verify the age of its users and delete accounts for those under 16, or they could face unspecified penalties.<\/p>\n Lowenthal said social media use among teenagers is widespread, and it\u2019s \u201cwreaking havoc on the minds of our youth.\u201d<\/p>\n Pew Research Center surveys have found that teens themselves are recognizing the potential harms<\/a> of social media.<\/p>\n And the former surgeon general pushed for warning labels on social media<\/a> over mental health concerns.<\/p>\n The Pew Research Center says<\/a> a majority of teens visit YouTube and TikTok daily, with half and nearly half doing so for Instagram and Snapchat, respectively.<\/p>\n Between 12% and 16% of teens told the Pew Research Center that they use either TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat or Instagram almost constantly.<\/p>\n California isn\u2019t the first state to tackle the issue of age-restricted social media use. Florida, for example, has already passed legislation to prohibit kids under 14 from having social media accounts. The Florida law<\/a> has been challenged in court<\/a>.<\/p>\n The California bill has both supporters and opponents<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Civil Justice Association of California<\/a> is among the groups against the bill. CJAC President and CEO Jaime Huff said the bill raises serious constitutional concerns by restricting access to lawful speech.<\/p>\n \u201cProtecting kids online is important, but banning minors from broad swaths of the internet is not the answer,\u201d Huff said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n She added that the bill \u201csubstitutes a blunt government mandate for the protections families actually need. California should pursue real online safety solutions – stronger parental tools and better safeguards – without cutting young people off from the digital world altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n But Common Sense Media<\/a>, which advocates for online protections for children and teens, said state governments need to step up to protect kids in the absence of federal guardrails on social media companies.<\/p>\n And Common Sense Media Founder and CEO Jim Steyer said this bill checks all the boxes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill prohibits platforms that use addictive feeds from allowing children under 16 to hold accounts. And we’re not regulating what kids can say online. We are regulating how these multi-billion-dollar platforms can target them through predatory product design,\u201d Steyer said. \u201cAnd platforms can still serve younger users. That’s fine. They just have to remove the addictive mechanics to do that. And that’s a choice they’ve always been able to make.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo illustration by Leon Neal\/Getty Images, file<\/p>\n Common Sense Media had a hand in crafting the California bill, which Steyer sees as a national standard for other states to follow.<\/p>\n He also said the California bill follows in the footsteps of the Australian social media ban<\/a> for kids under 16.<\/p>\n Steyer said there\u2019s momentum to hold social media companies accountable for the alleged harms to users.<\/p>\n![\"California](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776933467_992_c6a351ee-d27b-412a-bd00-8818fc4221df-Lowenthal_AB1709SocialMediaYouthDelayPC_04152650122.jpg\"\/)
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