Existing law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, prohibits a business from selling the personal information of a consumer if the business has actual knowledge that the consumer is less than 16 years of age, unless the consumer, in the case of a consumer at least 13 years of age and less than 16 years of age, or the consumer's parent or guardian, in the case of a consumer who is less than 13 years of age, has affirmatively authorized the sale of the consumer's personal information.
Existing law, the Unfair Practices Act, makes certain business practices unlawful and regulates various businesses to, among other things, preserve and regulate competition, prohibit unfair trade practices, and regulate advertising.
This bill, the Social Media Platform Duty to Children Act, would prohibit a social media platform, as defined, from using a design, feature, or affordance that the platform knew, or by the exercise of reasonable care should have known, causes a child user, as defined, to become addicted to the platform. The act would authorize the Attorney General or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney to bring an action to recover or obtain certain relief, including a civil penalty of up to $250,000 for a knowing and willful violation, and an award of litigation costs and attorneys' fees. The bill would provide that a social media platform is not subject to a civil penalty if it demonstrates that it met certain requirements, and would exempt a social media platform that is controlled by a business entity that generated less than $100,000,000 in gross revenue during the preceding calendar year or whose primary function is to allow users to play video games.

Statutes affected:
AB2408: 1632 CIV
02/17/22 - Introduced: 1632 CIV
03/24/22 - Amended Assembly: 1632 CIV
06/20/22 - Amended Senate: 1714 CIV
06/30/22 - Amended Senate: 1714 CIV
AB 2408: 1632 CIV