Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: Gov. Newsom signs bill to protect children from social media addiction, (Sep 24, 2024)

By Carrie DeLeon,

However, the California Governor vetoed a measure that would have imposed opt-out requirements on Internet browsers and mobile operating systems.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D.) has signed into law a bill aimed at protecting children online by prohibiting social media platforms from sending an “addictive” social media feed to a minor without the consent of the youth’s parent or guardian. The new law also prohibits social media platforms from sending notifications to minors during school hours and late at night. Meanwhile, the California Governor also vetoed a measure, sponsored by the California Privacy Protection Agency, that would have imposed opt-out requirements on Internet browsers and mobile operating systems.

Social media addiction bill. The Protecting our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act will give parents the choice of whether users under the age of 18 would receive a chronological feed from users they already follow or an algorithmic feed, which is the current default on certain Internet-based services or applications.

“Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children—isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night. With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits,” Gov. Newsom said in a statement.

Bill sponsor Sen. Nancy Skinner (D., District 9) said the new law would protect youth in California from the dangers of social media addiction.

“With SB 976, Gov. Newsom and the California legislature have made it clear: It is our job to protect our kids,” Sen. Skinner said. “Under SB 976, social media companies will no longer have the right to addict our kids to their platforms, sending them harmful and sensational content that our kids don’t want and haven’t searched for. From this day forward, California will be a safe haven, protecting our kids from social media addiction.”

The new law specifically makes it unlawful for the operator of an “addictive internet-based service or application” to provide an “addictive feed” to a user unless either of the following is met: “a) the operator does not have actual knowledge that the user is a minor, except, commencing Jan. 1, 2027, the operator must have reasonably determined that the user is not a minor …, or b) the operator has obtained verifiable parental consent to provide an addictive feed to the user who is a minor.”

SB 976 requires platforms to have default settings for minor users that prevent kids from being sent addictive feeds. The law allows parents to override the default settings.

In addition, SB 976 prohibits social media platforms from sending notifications between midnight and 6 a.m. to users who are not established to be over age 18 unless a parent or guardian has provided consent.

Provisions of the measure (S.B. 976, Reg Sess.) can be enforced only in “a civil action brought in the name of the people of the State of California by the Attorney General.” The law requires the attorney general to adopt regulations to “further the purposes of these provisions, including regulations regarding age assurance and parental consent by January 1, 2027,” and the bill authorizes the AG to adopt regulations that provide for exceptions to these provisions, but only if those exceptions “further the purpose of protecting minors.”

The law directs the AG, in promulgating regulations, “to solicit public comment regarding the impact that any regulation might have based on certain nondiscrimination characteristics set forth in existing law.”

The bill was also sponsored by California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D.), the Association of California School Administrators, and Public Health Advocates.

“Kids use the internet to find community and learn about themselves and the world. We must protect their ability to do this safely,” AG Bonta said. “Social media companies have shown us time and time again that for profit, they are willing to use addictive design features, including algorithmic feeds and notifications at all hours of the day and night, to target children and teens. SB 976 changes this and puts families in control.”

Browser Requirements Under CCPA. Newsom has vetoed a bill that sought to revise certain regulations adopted by the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) related to opt-out preferences. The governor said he supported the intent of the bill but had concerns about the mandate it would impose on operating system developers.

The bill (A.B. 3048, Reg Sess.) would have required Internet browsers and mobile operating systems to include a setting that California consumers could use to signal to businesses with which they interacted that they wanted to opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal information and limit the use of their sensitive personal information.

Gov. Newsom said he shared the desire of the bill’s supporters to enhance consumer privacy, pointing to a bill (SB 362) he signed last year to require the CPPA to establish an accessible deletion mechanism allowing consumers to request that data brokers delete all of their personal information.

“I am concerned, however, about placing a mandate on operating system (OS) developers at this time. No major mobile OS incorporates an option for an optout signal. By contrast, most internet browsers either include such an option or, if users choose, they can download a plug-in with the same functionality. To ensure the ongoing usability of mobile devices, it’s best if design questions are first addressed by developers, rather than by regulators,” Gov. Newsom said in a veto message.

The bill, which was sponsored by the CPPA, sought to make it “significantly easier for consumers to opt out of the sharing or sale of their personal information by requiring internet browsers to provide an opt-out preference signal that they can use to signal all of the businesses they interact with online that they are exercising their rights under the CCPA [California Consumer Privacy Act] by prohibiting the businesses from sharing their personal information.”

It would have specifically prohibited a business from developing or maintaining a browser through which a consumer interacts with a business that did not include a setting to enable the consumer to send an opt-out preference signal to that business.

Consumer advocates were disappointed with the governor’s veto of the bill.

“People don't want to click thousands of times to tell companies not to collect their data,” said Justin Kloczko, tech and privacy advocate for Consumer Watchdog. “We’re perplexed that the governor wouldn’t sign a bill that the California Privacy Protection Agency itself sponsored to give Californians easy control over their data. Exercising data privacy rights is an important issue, as data is foundational to things like AI and algorithmic discrimination. Now California has missed its opportunity to be the first state in the country to make browsers offer a simple feature. It's troubling the power that companies such as Google appear to have over the Governor's office."

The bill was sponsored by Assembly member Josh Lowenthal (D., District 69).

News: ConsumerProtection Privacy CaliforniaNews