Long Beach Lawmaker's Bill Targeting 'Addictive' Social Media Features Signed

LONG BEACH, CA — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday authored by Long Beach Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal that bars social media platforms from offering certain addictive features to users under 16.

Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1709 in Marin County as part of a broader package of measures aimed at protecting children from potential harms associated with social media, artificial intelligence and other online technology.

The Lowenthal bill prohibits platforms from offering features defined as psychologically exploitative and designed to maximize engagement in ways that foreseeably lead to compulsive use among children under 16.

Those features include infinite scrolling and algorithmic autoplay, while the state attorney general will have authority to define additional addictive features through regulations.

"Today, all of us are saying the same thing," Lowenthal said. "We're saying [that] we don't have to take it anymore, and families in the state of California — you don't have to take it anymore."

The law does not amount to a blanket ban on social media for children under 16. Platforms can continue allowing younger users access if they do not provide them with the prohibited addictive features.

Lowenthal, a Democrat whose district includes Long Beach, has described AB 1709 as an effort to force social media companies to make their platforms safer and more age-appropriate for children.

The measure also establishes an e-Safety Advisory Commission within the California Department of Justice to advise officials on implementation and emerging online-safety issues. AB 1709 passed both houses of the Legislature without a dissenting vote.

Privacy, Free Speech Concerns

The measure drew opposition from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which argued that restricting the features could effectively prevent young people from using major online services and potentially cut vulnerable children off from communities and information they rely on.

The digital-rights organization also raised concerns about how platforms will determine users' ages, arguing that compliance could lead companies to use verification systems involving government identification or biometric information.

The group characterized the measure as a "massive privacy and free speech nightmare."

Newsom defended the approach Thursday, saying the law targets features designed to keep young users engaged rather than imposing a broad social media ban.

"This is about the features themselves," Newsom said. "This is about addressing the problem: the scrolling, the algorithms. This is about addressing the substantive issue around the engineering."

California already regulates addictive social media feeds for minors under the state's Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act, which generally restricts minors' access to addictive feeds without parental consent and imposes other safeguards.

AB 1709 goes further for users under 16 by requiring covered platforms to withhold specified addictive features from them.

The legislation was among more than a dozen digital-safety measures signed by Newsom Thursday, including bills addressing artificial intelligence chatbots used by children, youth digital privacy and digitally altered or AI-generated child sexual exploitation material.

Lowenthal called the new laws a "bold first step."

"We're laying the groundwork for what comes next," Lowenthal said. "Stronger protections. Smarter enforcement. More accountability for the platforms that have treated our children's attention as a product to be mined."

City News Service contributed to this report.