Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that prohibits social media platforms from providing addictive features to users under 16, the first law of its kind in the nation.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s actions follow a series of social media trials this year, in which thousands of teenagers, schools and states have accused Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube of hooking young users with products being compared to cigarettes.
Smoking used to be everywhere, the way Facebook, TikTok, Snap, YouTube and Instagram are now. Society decided to break the habit, but it took a long time.
Teenagers in Australia on their phones. The country’s social media ban, which took effect in December, has so far failed to keep children off the platforms.
Meta, the social media giant, agreed to change the way children interact with its apps. That could be trouble if its competitors don’t abide by the same rules.
The social media giant settled with 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, and agreed to make major changes to its products over claims its platforms endangered children.
The case was the third of nine major personal injury cases that could expose Meta, YouTube, Snap and TikTok to financial damages and force them to change the designs of their platforms.
Los Angeles County Superior Court. Tech companies have faced thousands of cases filed by teenagers, school districts and state attorneys general that claim that social media features are addictive.
During the trial, to be held in the U.S. District Court of Oakland, Calif., four states are expected to argue that Meta violated federal child privacy and state consumer protection laws.
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